


The Apple Pie of My life

by saku062



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Character Death, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Time Travel, Twins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-30
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:02:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 39,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21615769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saku062/pseuds/saku062
Summary: What happened between two best friends when someone messes with their lives? Can the past changes the future or can the future changes the past?
Relationships: Dean Winchester/Reader, Dean Winchester/You
Comments: 47
Kudos: 50





	1. Prologue : Truman High, 1997

Another state, another highschool, another friends, another identity. Your life was an eternal restarting. You were used to it by now. Your parents being hunters, you followed them everywhere. You weren’t hunting, your parents thinking you were too young to do that, and you still had a lot to learn before being able to help them in a hunt. You knew how to protect yourself of course, and you helped them with the lore, while you tried to live your life as normal as possible.

You gasped and jumped from surprise when the face of your friend, Amanda Heckerling, appeared next to you as you closed the door of your locker.

“Jesus, Amanda! You scared me!” 

The blond girl giggled, biting her bottom lip. “Sorry.”

You rolled your eyes and followed her as both of you headed for your next class. You listened to her latest rumor. It seemed like a new student has arrived, and according to your pretty friend, he was more than good looking.

“I’m not talking about Brad Pitt good looking, Y/N.” Amanda kept on explaining as she wrapped her arm around your shoulders.

“I’m telling you, he’s like a Greek God.” She sighed dreamily, as her head rested against your shoulder.

You rolled your eyes playfully. She had a soft heart, falling easily for anyone. At least, with this new guy you wouldn’t be the “new kid” anymore.

“And since when are you interested in mythology?” You chuckled.

Amanda gave you a stern look. “That’s not the point. You’ll see what I mean. He’s in our next class.” She said as she pushed you forward, forcing you to walk faster. It was the first time you saw her so eager.

Unfortunately for Amanda, the new student wasn’t here. You both sat at your place and waited for the class to start.

After a few minutes, a knock interrupted your teacher and all eyes turned toward the door. Your heart skipped a beat once you recognized the young boy entering. No wonder, Amanda and almost all of the girls were talking about the new student. You didn’t know he was here and you started to understand why your parents told you that the case they were working could take longer than usual. If he was here, it meant that his father was here as well and certainly, helping your parents with their current hunt.

“Glad to see that you finally joined us, Mister Winchester.” Your teacher said coldly, not pleased that the new student interrupted his class.

The young boy shrugged, a smirk on his face. “I had some free time.”

You tried not to laugh at his bad joke. It’s been a while since you’ve seen him and you forgot how he tried to play the bad boy.

The teacher sighed angrily, ordering him to take a seat and remain quiet for the rest of the class.

As he walked toward the empty seat, which was just behind yours, you didn’t look at each others. It was always the silent rule whenever you ended up in the same place; you have to be strangers to each other. It would be weird if the last new students knew each other and it could draw attention.

The rest of the class felt very long. You could wait for it to end. You wanted to know why Dean was here and more particularly, how long he would be here. You missed your best friend.

By the end of the day, you waved at Amanda as she left with her other friends in the bus. You grabbed your school bag and started to walk on the street. Living in a motel wasn’t the best and noone in school knew about it. It would be too much work to explain why you were living on your own in a motel.

As soon as you entered into your room, you knew something wasn’t right. The odd feeling of being watched hadn’t left you since you’ve left school, and this feeling grew stronger once you were in your room. Silently, you walked towards your bed, thinking about grabbing the knife you had under your pillow. When your fingertips touched the cold metal, you felt a presence behind you and turned around in a swift motion, firmly holding the weapon between your body and the intruder.

“Wow easy, Tiger!” Dean said, his hands raised in surrender.

“Dean!” You sighed, lowering your hand as soon as you realized who he was. “Don’t do that! I could have killed you!”

“Don’t be a drama queen.” He chuckled as he hugged you.

“I could!” Your voice muffled against his chest, then your arms wrapped around his waist.

“Yeah, yeah.” He said playfully, his chin resting on the top of your head.

The both of you stayed silent for a short moment, enjoying the moment. You really missed him.

“Where’s Sammy?” You finally asked, breaking the embrace.

“Next door. We’re your new neighbors!” Dean grinned as he sat on your bed.

“How long?”

Dean shrugged. “Dad left, saying it would be for a week.”

Your smile fell slightly at the news. The Winchester brothers were your best friends, your only friends to be exact. It wasn’t easy to keep track of your friends when your life was full of lies and when you have to move from one place to another. However, the brothers were just like you, living the hunters life, and knowing how hard it was.

“Hey, no, no, no. Don’t do that.” Dean said as he stood up and came closer.

“Do what?”

“The sad face. It doesn’t suit you.” He said in a soft voice, his hand cupping your face and his thumb caressing your cheek. “Let’s enjoy this, as long as it lasts, okay?”

He was staring at you intently and you nodded slightly, staring back at him.

****

“Y/N!” You and Amanda turned around when you heard your name being called.

You saw Alex running towards you, a book pressed against his chest. The boy stopped once he reached you and bend over, breathing heavily.

“You alright?” You asked after an awkward silent moment.

“Ye-yeah, sorry. I, uh, I wanted to give you this.” Alex stuttered, pushing the book against your chest, the motion a bit painful. “You said you wanted to read it.” He explained when he saw you frowning.

“Uh, yeah but you didn’t have to do this.” You said, looking at the cover. You vaguely remember telling him you loved reading and that you were interested in the last release of your favorite author. “Thank you.”

Alex’s smile fell as soon as Dean appeared behind you. His arms wrapping around you and Amanda’s waist. “Hello, ladies. What’s up?”

You glanced at Dean, happy to see him and started to explain what happened when Alex left without a word, the moment becoming more awkward with each passing seconds.

“Y/N as a stalker.” Amanda giggled.

“Who?” Dean asked, unconsciously tightening his hold around you.

“A~lex!” She hummed playfully.

“That’s not true!” You defended, feeling the heat on your cheeks.

Amanda ignored you and kept on talking. “Rumors say that he’s going to ask you out for the prom.”

You winced at the thought. Alew was a nice guy, and kind of handsome with his piercing blue eyes and deep black short hair, but you felt an uneasiness when he was near you.

“Speaking of it! When are you going to ask me, Dean?” Amanda asked, her hand rubbing his chest.

Dean gave her a cheeky grin. “Sorry sweetheart, I won’t ask you because I won’t be there anymore.”

You stopped walking and stared at him. He explained that his father called and told him that his brother and him would leave by the end of the week. You could see the relief in his eyes at the news. Dean really didn’t like the school life. You, on the other, were losing your best friend. Once again. You knew you were staying until the end of school year. Your parents called the night before, telling you that the case was over but they needed to take care of a new one not too far from here. It was better for you to finish this year at Truman High instead of moving again for only a few months.

How long would it be before you could see the Winchesters again?

***

You were standing in the boys’ room, waiting with them for John to pick them. The mood in the room was gloomy, despite the fact you tried to hide your sadness.

“Dad’s here!” Sam exclaimed, grabbing his duffel bag and giving you a tight hug. You missed him already. He left you and Dean alone after he promised you to call you, at least once a week.

You stood in front of Dean, your head low, fighting the tears. You hated those moments.

“Well,” Dean licked his lips nervously. He didn’t know what to say. “Take care, alright?”

You nodded once, still looking at the used carpet on the floor. He couldn’t bear seeing you like this so, without thinking, he engulfed your tiny frame in his arms.

“And do me a favor, if Alex asks you out, don’t say yes. You deserve better.” He said after a moment. You wanted to reply but the honking of the car outside stopped you.

“I won’t go.” You whispered, your fists clenching as you tried your hardest to keep your tears at bay.

“Why not? I know you want to.” Dean asked, a bit surprised by your answer. He remember Amanda telling him that you talked about going.

You shook your head, still refusing to look at him. “It’s a normal thing, Dean.” You explained, then lifted your head to look at him “We don’t do normal.”

Seeing the tears and the defeated look on your face, broke his heart. He knew you didn’t have a normal life, he already erased the thought for him or his brother, but he wanted nothing more for you to be happy. You wanted a normal apple pie life, you told him a few years ago.

“Sweetheart,” He whispered, his voice stuck in his throat. Seeing you like this was killing him.

“I’ll go with you.” He said without thinking, the words surprising him as much as you.

“Wha-what?” You asked, dumbfounded. “No Dean, you don’t have to-”

“I know. I want to.” He said as he cupped your face with both hands. “I would do anything for you.”

You grabbed one of his wrists and gasped when you felt his lips against your forehead. The tears falling freely on your cheeks.

Another series of honking and Dean knew his father’s patience was at its limits. He really had to go even though he wanted to stay with you. He broke the embrace and tried to smile as best as he could.

“Choose your best dress and wait for me, alright?” He said as he left the room. “I’ll be there, Y/N. I promise.”

You only nodded, not believing in your voice. Dean was the best. He would do anything to make you happy. Despite his departure, you were smiling. You knew it wouldn’t be long before you saw your best friend again.

***

The prom night was finally here. Once class was over, you rushed into your motel room to get ready. Dean would be here within a few hours, according to the last call you had.After a quick shower, you took out the beautiful long dress from the closet. It was a sleeveless red dress, Dean loved red, that stopped just above your knees but was longer on the back, until it reached the floor. The bustier was covered in laces and sequins. When you saw the dress you knew it was the one. You couldn’t wait to see Dean’s reaction when he would see it.

Only thirty minutes left before Dean would be here. You thought for a long moment about what you were going to do with your hair, and after a moment you opted for a stylish bun, with a few strands curling around your face. Finally, you kept the make-up neutral, with a slight touch of mascara and a deep red lipstick. With one over look in the mirror you nodded, satisfied with the general look. Your heart beating hard in your chest. As far as you could remember this was the more normal thing you’ve ever done. It felt good. Really good. You couldn’t thank Dean enough for giving you this bit of normalcy. 

He was already five minutes late. The boy loved drawing attention.

One hour late. Maybe he forgot it was tonight? No, of course he didn’t, he called you yesterday telling you he was on his way. You still remember hearing his smile over the phone when he told you that John accepted to give him Baby for the night.

Five hours late. You thought bitterly as you sat on the stairs in front of your room. You felt pathetic for still thinking he would come. You would wait all night if you had to. At this time, you just wished he would come. You don’t care that the party was almost over, you just wanted for Dean to come.

As you hid you face in your hands and cried silently, the realization hit you hard as you felt your heart breaking.

Dean Winchester would never come.


	2. Truman High 2008

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little jump forward. The story takes place 10 years later and is set during season 4, episode 13 "After School Special"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, this is unbetated, so sorry for any grammar mistakes and errors.
> 
> Feel free to tell me what you think about this story!

You hated this place, but you had work to do. It didn’t matter that this place was full of good memories, the one year that you felt normal in your whole life. It didn’t matter, because it was also the place of your worst, painful memory.

Seated behind the wheel, you closed your eyes and took a deep breath before exiting your car. You adjusted your blazer and made sure your pencil skirt was alright before heading to the main entrance. 

It seemed like a simple case, your first suspect, April Dawkins, a young student who swore she was possessed when she drowned another student in the girls restroom. After asking her for more details you wondered if your ‘simple case’ was really one. No black smoke, no sulfur but the way she explained how she felt was exactly a demonic possession. You had to check the building before considering this case a fake one.

You posed as Leia Swan, FBI agent. The teachers weren’t happy that an investigation was on, but they answered your questions nonetheless. After a few hours of investigating, you thanked the English teacher and left the classroom. Another dead end. No one understood what had happened and thought that the girl just lied about everything,as a way of protection. Better to be seen as a crazy person than a murderer.

The students weren’t of any help either. You just learned that April was bullied by the victim because she was a bit chubby and shy. Stupid kids. You remembered how horrible your life was when you were a teen. Every time you changed school, people talked about you and how strange you were, being on your own and not as cheerful as the other girls.That was until you ended at Truman High, the one year of normalcy you had. As normal, as your life could be.

You went into the girls restroom, where the murder happened, to check for some trace of EMF or sulfur. Nothing. Something was wrong but you couldn’t point it out. Sighing deeply you exited the restroom and bumped into a tall, well-built man.

“Sorry!” The man apologized right away, his big hands grabbing your shoulders to prevent you from falling.

“I’m sorry.” You said yourself before looking at the man’s face. “Holy mother- Sam?” You had to take another glance, the man standing in front of you was older than you remembered but you couldn’t forget those hazel eyes.

Sam’s face furrowed when he heard his name but after a few seconds, the realization hit him hard. “Y/N? Oh my God, it’s so good to see you!” He exclaimed as he engulfed you in a bear hug.

You smiled at the sweet gesture. You were taken aback by how big he was but he was still the same, sweet boy you remembered. You hugged him back as much as you could despite the height difference.

“Wow look at you! You’re beautiful!” He said, a huge smile on his face.

“Aww! I bet you say that to any woman you met!” You hit his chest playfully. “Look at you! All grown up and big!”

It’s been a while since you’ve seen Sam. The last time was certainly in this place, when you spend two weeks with the brothers. Your smile fell as you thought about Sam’s big brother.

“What are you doing here?” You asked, switching the topic for a more professional one.

“I think we’re working on the same thing as you.” Sam said seriously, his hunter mode back on.

Wait a minute. ‘We’?

“Sammy!” Your blood turned cold into your veins when you heard the familiar nickname. Your eyes widened and you curled your hands into fists as the steps drew closer.

“I thought he was dead.” You whispered, your breath falling short.

Sam rubbed the back of his neck. “That’s a long story.” He mumbled.

“Who’s your new friend?” Dean asked, stopping behind you, you could picture the flirty smile in his voice. His voice was grufier, more masculine than the one you remembered and you couldn’t stop the chill that ran down your spine.

“If you would excuse me.” you said coldly as you walked towards the exit, not looking back even once. You had to get out of here, you couldn’t see his face, it would bring too many painful memories. You weren’t ready for this.

“Y/N, wait!” Sam tried to stop you, but you had already left.

“Y Y/N?” Dean repeated, surprised at first, then his face turned angry and his fists clenched tightly. He turned around and walked in the opposite direction.

“But Dean,” Sam called his brother, not moving “We could work together.”

“We don’t need her.” Dean answered, pushing the double doors in front of him angrily, murmuring something else but Sam couldn’t hear him.

***

Nothing’s better than a good whiskey. The alcohol burned down you throat all your worries and sad thoughts. You were more than pleased to see Sam again. After all those years you wondered what had happened to him. Thanks to Bobby, you knew how life has been for Sam, he told you about him regularly. You knew he left the hunting life for Stanford and you were more than happy for him. One of you could finally leave the life and do as he wished.

Of course, a few years later he went right back into it, thanks to his stupid big brother. You didn’t know why and you couldn’t care less. After that, when Bobby tried to talk about the Wnchester brothers but you simply told him you didn’t care.

Until the day Dean died.

You remembered that day in any details. You came into Bobby’s house, looking for a book. You needed it for a case. When you entered the house, the stillness and gloomy atmosphere were the first things that hit you. Bobby wasn’t a ball of fluffy rainbows but you knew something bad happened when you saw his red eyes.

“What’s wrong, Bobby?” You asked as you come closer.

He drank what was left in his glass, just one look at the bottle told you it wasn’t his first drink.

“It’s better if you sit, kid.” Bobby told you, his voice cracking at the end.

“I’m fine, just told me already.” You said, standing in front of his desk, your arms crossed upon your chest.

Bobby rubbed his eyes with his thumb and middle finger, as if he was searching for the right words or simply not believing what he was going to tell you.

“Dean’s dead.” 

You heard the words, you understood them but your brain refused to acknowledge the fact. Your heart stopped beating as you held your breath. Your hands reached for the top of the desk, in a vain attempt to keep your balance. Bobby stood up right away and helped you to sit on the couch next to his desk.

“Easy kid. Easy. Take a breath.” The old man told you in a soft voice, his hand caressing the top of your head.

You tried to say something, anything but no words came out. Why? You hated the guy, after what he had put you through. You thought that the betrayal and despair you felt that prom night was the worst, but it was nothing compared to what you were feeling at the moment. Why were you sad for him? Why were you feeling something? Why did you heart hurt so much?

“Why?” The only word you could pronounce before hot, fat tears fell down your cheeks.

You felt like a fool, remembering that night. Dean Winchester lied once again. He wasn’t dead and you hated yourself for feeling bad that night. You closed your eyes and drank the rest of your drink before motioning the bartender to keep the alcohol going.

“Is this seat taken?” You heard a man’s voice ask next to you. You rolled your eyes as you recognized the voice.

“It’s a free country.” You said not glancing up and kept your eyes on your drink as you were more interested in the way the brown liquid was poured into your glass.

After an awkward moment, Sam turned toward you and asked in a whisper, “What happened to you, Y/N?”

You chuckled humorlessly, your fingertip playing with the ice cube in your drink. “Your brother happened.” You murmured with so much hatred in your voice.

Sam nodded, wingling his hands on his lap. “You know, he never told me what happened that night.”

You were drunk, but you still could notice the curiosity in his voice. “I mean, you were best friends. Always together, like two peas in a pod. And then, one day….nothing?”

“Not my story to tell, Sammy.” You stood up, your balance surprisingly good after all the drinks. You stopped and glanced at the hand that wrapped around your forearm.

“We could use your help, Y/N. Seems like ghost possession and it has something to do with the time we were there.” Sam explained, and you didn’t need to look at his face to know that he was using his puppy eyes. A soft smile curled at the corner of your lips, he was so damn cute using those.

“We made a mistake back then. Now, the time to fix it.” Sam said more, you knew he was talking about the case but you couldn’t help yourself and thought back at that horrible night.

“Is that so?”

“Please.” You knew you made a mistake when you looked at his face. The pleading look he was giving you was the last thing you needed to see to give in.

“I’ll see, Sammy. I make no promise but if my headache tomorrow isn’t too hard on me, then maybe I’ll come to help.” You accepted and you weren’t lying. You didn’t accept for Dean, you did it for Sam. It’s not because you hated his big brother that you had to ignore poor little Sammy.

In the end your headache might have been a son of a bitch, because you never came.

***

“What’s in your mind?” Dean asked, his gaze focused on the road.

The case was over, they identified the wrong ghost but in the end they won. Dean thought that his brother was still thinking about Dirk and blaming himself.

“She never came.” Sam simply said, his body slightly turned toward the window.

“Who?” Dean was surprised, he never thought a girl was the reason of his brother’s pensive state.

“Y/N. She said she would come to help.”

Dean’s fingers tightened around the wheel when he heard her name.”Come on, man! Forget it!” Why did he have to hear your name again? He’s been in Hell and he thought he felt the worst, so why did it hurt him when he heard about you? He thought he had moved on already.

“Forget it? Are you serious, Dean? She’s our friend.” Sam turned toward his brother, his face stern.

“Was, Sam. Was our friend. Not anymore.” Dean corrected, the anger slowly building. You were their friends but you stopped being it for him the day you betrayed him. 

“Yeah, and what’s the reason? You never told me.” Sam asked, maybe this time Dean would tell him.

“There’s nothing to tell.” 

Sam scoffed, he had enough. Something went wrong between those two and none of them were telling the truth. They forgot that he lost a precious friend because of their petty argument.

“There must be a reason we met her again with this case. You were best friends, you loved her and-”

“I don’t love her.” Dean interjected, his jaws clenching. There was no way he would think about it again. You crushed his heart and stepped on it. Once was already enough.

The anger Sam felt stopped right away, instead he felt sad for his brother. “Dean,” he sighed, Sam knew what he was going to say was going to get his brother, really, really mad.

“I saw her in your dreams. You wanted the apple pie life with her.” 

Dean’s jews clenched so hard, he thought it was going to break. He didn’t need to understand that Sam was talking about the time they used African dreamroot. He was surprised himself when he saw her face. She was just sitting on a blanket, wearing a simple but so beautiful yellow dress, and talking about kids and some baseball game. He still could picture, the love on her face when she said she loved him.

“This is a low blow, Sam. Even for you.” Dean warned, he had enough already.

“Dean.”

“No, Sam. I’m telling you, stop it right now.” He didn’t listen, the rage he felt whenever he thought about that stupid night was consuming.

“Dean, stop!” Sam exclaimed, his hand reaching for Dean’s forearm.

Dean glanced at the hand, then at his brother’s scared face and finally the road. He hit the brakes so hard, when he saw the figure in the middle of the road. The car stopped right on time, one more second and it would have been too late.

Both brothers watched at the person standing in front of the car, the lights illuminating her dirty scared face. Despite the bad lightening, they could see that she was just a teen. After a few seconds of stupor, the brothers exited the car, rushing towards the poor girl who fell on her back, mostly because of the big scare, or maybe because of the limp body that she was carrying.

“M- My brother,” she stuttered, the sounds of the car almost covering her tired voice. “Please, save my little brother.”


	3. The Twins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Winchester brothers take care of the kids they found on the road.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is unbetated as always, so I'm really sorry for any errors. (By the way, if there's a beta reader, reading this note I'm kind of looking for one ^^")
> 
> I also apologize, this chapter is a bit short but the next ones are longer.

The poor girl whimpered when Dean tried to help her to stand up, her left hand pressing against her right shoulder. Dean didn’t need more to know that she was injured; judging by the strange angle she had a dislocated shoulder.

The oldest Winchester glanced at Sam who held the body of the young boy in his arms. The kid seemed unconscious and the blood covering the lower part of his tee-shirt wasn’t a good sign.

Quickly they put the boy in the backseat of the Impala, Sam sitting next to him as he pressed a hand against the wound on the boy’s stomach.

“Don’t worry, we’ll bring you at the nearest hospital.” Dean said slowly, as if he feared to scare the teenager.

“N-no hospital. Please!” She gasped after she gripped his forearm. The fear and despair in her big green eyes were heartbreaking. Dean licked his lips and nodded as he started the car. He knew this kind of request, the kids were hunters or in a very bad situation.

After a few miles they spotted a motel and parked the car in the parking lot. Sam stayed in the car with the kids, while Dean went inside to check-in. The brothers led the kids into the room, as carefully as they could.

“On three, ready?” Dean licked his lips, looking at the back of the girl’s head who nodded once. He was dreading what he was going to do.

He took a deep breath and counted. “Okay. One. Two.” And before he said three, he pulled on her arm and put back her dislocated shoulder.

“Son of a-” she screamed at the pain, she turned around and punched his shoulder. “You said on three.”

“Three?” Dean gave her a sorry smile, rubbing at his shoulder. How such a small body could have so much strength ?

She rolled her eyes and scoffed before leaving the bathroom and walked towards the bed, where Sam was patching her brother. Fortunately, the wound was more impressive than dangerous. The boy had lost blood but they found him early enough before it could be life threatening. 

She bit her thumbnail as she paced back and forth, waiting for Sam to finish the stitching.

“What’s your name?” Dean asked, as he offered her a glass of water.

She grabbed the glass with her slender fingers, watching Dean’s face curiously. Was she thinking about the fact that she could trust them?

“Abbigail.” She said before taking a gulp. She looked at her sleeping brother as soon as Sam stood up. “How is he?” She asked as she knelt next to him, her fingers pushing away a few strands of hair that covered his eyes. The gesture was so delicate and loving.

“He’s okay. It will hurt once he’s awake and won’t move for a while but he’ll be fine.” Sam said as he washed his hands in the kitchen sink.

“I’m so sorry, little brother.” Abbigail whispered, her lips brushing his forehead in a kiss.

Sam accepted the beer bottle Dean offered him and both sat at the table in front of the beds.

“You keep calling…” Sam started, nudging at the sleeping boy on the bed.

“James.” Abbigail informed them. “His name is James.”

Sam nodded, acknowledging him and kept going. “You’re calling James, your little brother but he doesn’t look younger than you. Are you twins?”

Abbigail nodded and stood up, sitting on the empty bed, her good arm nursing the hurt one.

“Yeah. I’m the older one by two minutes en twenty-six seconds.” She added, a cheeky grin adorning her face, as if it was a joke between them.

“Dad says it’s only twenty-four seconds.” James groaned from the bed as he started to move. Abbigail jumped from her bed and knelt at his brother’s bed.

“James!” She exclaimed, happy to see him awake.

“Too loud.” He groaned again, his hand pushing his sister’s face away. “Ow.” He whimpered as he tried to sit in the bed.

“Easy, kid.” Sam’s hand stopped his movement and pushed him in a lying position. “Take this, it will help with the pain.” He added as he gave him two pills and a glass of water. 

James’s eyes opened and looked at Sam’s face, his Y/E/C’s eyes falling slowly on the pills in the middle of his hand. He swallowed the pills and glanced at his sister while drinking his glass. Sam noticed the subtle movement of her head, the twins behavior a bit strange.

“What happened?” Sam asked after a moment. Once again the twins shared a look, communicating silently.

“Are you hunters?” The room fell silent at Dean’s question. The twins once again looked at each other, debating silently what they could say.

“Not really?” Abbigail finally said, sitting on the other bed once again. “Our parents are, though.”

The Winchesters nodded, understanding.

“They trained us more for self defense rather than hunting.” James added.

“What are their names?” Sam asked, something was bothering him.

“Chanel.”

“Jimmy.”

The twins answered at the same time, the silent that followed quite heavy. It was the Winchesters’ turn to share a silent communication.

“Chanel and Jimmy, huh?” Dean’s fingers played with the label of his beer bottle, a tight smile covering his lips. “Listen kids,” He said as he stood up.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but lying isn’t your best choice here.” He said in a patronizing voice, his index finger pointing at James.

“You’re one to talk.” James murmured between his teeth, his sister being the closest one to hear it and giving him a death glare.

“What did you say?” Dean asked, coming closer.

“Listen, it’s alright!” Abbigail jumped from her seat and stood between James and the Winchesters.

“Thank you for everything but we don’t want to bother you anymore. Come on James, we’ve got work to do.” She said as she helped her brother to stand up.

“Wow, wow, easy.” Sam tried to stop them, his hands stopping any movement from the kids. There was no way James could leave in his state. “What do you mean?”

“We’re hunting a demon.” Abbigail started to explained as she put her brother’s arm around her neck and place her own around his waist, avoiding his wound.

“I hate demons.” Dean mumbled, drinking his beer.

The twins chuckled softly, James wincing because of the movement, then Abbigail cleared her throat and kept on explaining. “He’s very powerful and we think he’s going after our mom.”

“Where’s your father?” Dean asked standing in front of them, blocking the way toward the exit.

“He’s,” Abbigail raised her face, her green eyes falling on Dean’s ones. He saw the bump her throat made as she swallowed. “He’s not available at the moment. We’re on our own.” She finally said as she avoided his stare. Dean took that at another lie. He nodded, his jaws clenched and stepped on the side, leaving the room for them to exit.

“Thank you, for everything. Really.” Abbigail said once again as she opened the door and helped her brother.

Once they were outside, Sam hit his brother’s chest and made a face. 

“What?” Dean asked, fed up with being hit.

“Dude, really? You’re going to let them go? They’re going to be killed.”

Dean rolled his eyes, annoyed. “So what? The kids are lying right at our face. They’re hiding something. If they needed help, they would tell us the truth!”

“Maybe they don’t have a choice! They don’t know us, how could they trust us?”

“Come on Sam! I mean Chanel and Jimmy? We don’t have a Facebook for hunters but I’m sure that if a couple of hunters named Chanel and Jimmy existed, we would know!”

“And again, maybe they lied to protect them. You heard them, that demon is after their parents. We’ve lied for less than that, Dean!” Sam argued, walking behind Dean who started pacing back and forth.

“Alright!” Dean groaned after a short moment, heading towards the exit.

Sam smiled, satisfied. He didn’t know what was going on but something was strange and he was determined to discover the truth.


	4. The demon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As per usual, this is unbetated and I’m sorry for any grammar mistakes or error spelling. Please let me know what you think of it! I do not own the characters or the show.
> 
> This series should have been a short one (5 or 6 chapters max), but I'm having so much fun writing it! It will take place in season 4 and there will be a few chapters in canon episodes.

You head hurt like a bitch. You knew a headache was on its way, judging by the quantity of liquor you drank the previous night. It seemed like a good idea in the moment. Now, not so much.

You were used to hangovers and you were sure that the throbbing in the back of your head wasn’t due to the alcohol. You tried to bring your hand at the painful place, but your movement was stopped and the rattling of chains increased your heartbeat.

“Great, you’re awake.” A voice said from the other side of the room. You heard the sound of footsteps against concrete floor coming your way.

“You don’t know how sorry I am. I hope I didn’t hurt you too bad.” The man said, speaking quickly as if he was stressed.

You cracked an eye open, you needed to see that douchebag who hit you, visibly kidnapped you and then apologized for it.

You opened your eyes, your vision a bit blurry at first, the hangover still present apparently. In front of you stood a man, worry written all over his face. Face that was strangely familiar. Your eyes then fell on your wrists, bounded against the armrest of the chair you were currently sitting. With a quick glance, your noticed that your ankles had the same fate than your wrists. Finally, you noticed a little red bag on the floor, with a red tube connect to it and when you followed the path the tube was taking you understood why you were feeling sick and lifeless.

“What are you?” You mumbled, your throat killing you from dryness. “Vampire? Djiin?”

The man’s face turned from worried to surprised. “What? N-no.” Then sadness covered his traits. “Y/N, you really don’t recognize me?”

You licked you cracked and dry lips, the need to drink something being more and more important. You closed your eyes, trying to get rid of the dizziness. Once you opened them again, you looked into those blue eyes. His face has a bit changed because of the years but when you thought about it, he almost looked the same.

“Alex?”

***

James woke up with difficulty, the smell of coffee the only reason why he even tried to open his eyes.

“Good morning.” Sam greeted from his spot at the table, a bowl of fruits in front of him.

“M’ning” James mumbled, rubbing his sleepy eyes with the back of his hand. Then he focused his hearing on the sounds coming from the bathroom. The shower was on and with a quick glance on the other bed he noticed his sister wasn’t in the room anymore.

“You let Abby take the first shower?” He asked, a yawn leaving his lips.

Sam ate his fruits then shook his head, showing the number three with his fingers. “She’s the third one. Dean and I already used it.”

“Awesome.” James sighed, his forearm covering his eyes.

Sam choked on a piece of orange when he heard the boy’s words.

“Better leave some hot water!” James shouted, loud enough for his sister to hear him.

The sound of water falling stopped, and after a few seconds, a piercing shout came from across the door.

“I’m not deaf!”

Even though they were hiding something, Sam was certain that those two were siblings. He listened to their banter remembering his and Dean’s.

Shortly after, Abbigail exited the room, a heavy cloud of steam following her. James was right about the hot water. 

“Geez, it’s not like you could take a shower in your state anyway.” She said, walking bare feet towards the bed she used the previous night.

James used his hands to push himself in a standing position. “I can manage. I had worse.” He said before he winced at the pain in his stomach.

Abbigail gave him a bitch face, brushing her long blond hair. “No you hadn’t.”

“Whatever, Bitch.” James mutered. “Ow!” He shouted in pain as she threw her brush at his face.

“Jerk!”

Once again, Sam choked on his breakfast. The coincidences being too much. There were only two people he knew who said those words. Abbigail came quickly next to him, giving a gentle tap on his back as she tried to help him.

“Sam, you’re alright?” She asked after a few seconds, worry visible on her face.

As he tried to breathe normally again, Sam’s eyes fell on the young girl’s face. Now that her face wasn’t covered with dirt he could see the freckles covering her nose and the top of her cheeks. Two big green eyes focused on him, checking for any discomfort. Her wet long blond hair framing her face, perfectly.

“Un-Sam?” James stuttered, as he came closer, painfully.

Still speechless, Sam watched James intently. How couldn’t he make the connection before? Y/H/C short hair, big Y/E/C eyes, and a cute little nose, just like Y/N’s. Sam switched from one face to another, his heartbeat rising up. He understood now. All the lies, the wrong feeling, the familiarity. But how? It was impossible, the age difference and everything. It didn’t make sense.

“H-how? W-Why? When?!” That's all Sam could articulate, his brain analysing everything and refusing to believe it.

Abbigail chuckled awkwardly, steeping back.

“I-I mean you- are you Dean-” Sam started to ask when the door opened and Dean entered the room.

“Dean! Hey!” Sam stood up abruptly, too cheerful of a smile on his face. “You’re back! Hey!” He added, clapping in his hands.

Dean lifted one eyebrow, his eyes glancing from his brother to the kids next to him. Both kids just shrugged, being as lost as Dean.

“Alright, second service. Eat while it’s still hot.” Dean announced as he put a paper bag in the middle of the table.

“Great! I’m starving!” Abbigail groaned as she put her hair in a messy bun before looking into the bag, taking out an egg and bacon muffin.She bite into it hungrily, moaning at the taste. “Bacon. Sweet, sweet bacon.”

Sam’s eyes widened, looking at Dean right away. There was no way he was the only one who noticed the similarity. However Dean only nodded, as if he agreed with her and bite in his own breakfast. 

“What? No pie?” James lamented as he checked the paper bag as well.

Sam once again looked at Dean. This time, for sure, he would notice. Right?

Dean only shook his head, the disappointment visible on his face. “They ran out.”

James sighed, grabbing a muffin instead. “Story of my life.” He said, sitting next to Dean.

“You tell me.” Dean agreed. Both boys munching noisily while Sam stared at them, speechless. From the corner of the room, Abbigail was silently munching on her breakfast, looking warily at Sam.

***

You fought with all your might to stay awake, but the loss of blood was hurting your body more and more. With tired eyes you watched Alex going back and forth in front of you. Obviously, it was the first kidnapping from this guy. He was all fidgety.

“I’m sorry for the blood b-but he said he needs it. I don’t know how many he needs but that should be enough, right? Right!” Alex said to himself before he decided to take off the needle planted into your neck. He came closer, and with his trembling hands he tried to pull it out. The metal double doors opened in a loud noise, making Alex jump.

“Well, well, well. What do you think you’re doing?” The new man asked Alex. You furrowed your brows as you tried to take a good look at the newcomer. You must be at a high level of blood loss because in front of you stood the same man. Twice.

“What the hell?” You whispered, the man looking at you, an evil glint in his eyes.

“You’re awake! Perfect. I’ve got a question or two for you.” He said grabbing your chin between his fingers, painfully.

“Purson, I don’t think-” Alex tried to stop him but he only received a slap on the face as an answer.

“Who asked you to think, Alex?” Purson roared, scaring his minion away.

Well, at least you weren’t seeing double. There was really two men in the room. Maybe they were twins?

“Now, my dear,” Purson’s attention was back on you, as he blinked his eyes turned from blue to pitch black. You could feel his nails digging into your skin. “Where are the kids?”

Who? Whose kids? What was he talking about? The more time you spend here and the less you understood what was going on.

“I’ll ask you again.” Purson said as he let go of your chin, your head falling against your chest, you didn’t have any forces left. “Where are the kids?”

As you still didn't reply, rage boiled inside his veins. “WHERE ARE THE KIDS, BITCH?” He screamed into your face, his hand slapping your right cheek, hard. The force of it pushing your face on the opposite side, the movement pressing on the needle inside your neck. In the corner of the room, Alex jumped, scared by the brutal force.

“I know they’re here! I know they followed me! They tried to kill me! So where are they now?” You could feel his spit on your face as he shouted.

“Bite...me.” You said. You didn’t know where those kids were, or whoever they were but if they tried to kill this psycho, there was no way you would help him to find them.

You thought he would slap you again or maybe worse but he just took a deep breath, rearranged his long black coat and stepped back.

“Whatever. I’ll find them myself.” He said as he walked towards the double doors.

“Oh and Alex, don’t take off the needle yet. We need all her blood.”

“A-all of it? Bu-But-” Alex stuttered, looking between you and Purson.

Purson stopped in his tracks, his face turning slightly, an evil smile curled his lips.

“I need a sacrifice for this kind of spell. A life for a life, as they say.”

Once the doors closed, Alex turned around and saw you closing your eyes, the loss of blood being too much. He looked back and forth between you and the doors. He had to do something and he just hoped that he was doing the right thing as he walked towards you.

***

"Hold on a second. I don’t get it.” Dean said as he waited for Sam to get in the car. The oldest Winchester turned in his seat, looking at the twins who were seated in the backseat.

Abbigail had explained how they ended hurt in their hunt for the demon. After he had tried to kill their parents in their home, he ran away and only warned them that it wasn’t over. Despite what their parents told them, the twins went after him and followed him until they ended in Fairfax, Indiana.

“Didn’t you say that you live in Kansas? How did you get here?” He asked for more details. He couldn’t believe the kids had traveled so much on their own. Granted they are hunters but even Sammy and himself weren’t on their own when they were the same age.

The twins glanced at each other, a silent conversation going on between them.

“We’re resourceful?” James smiled sheepishly. 

Dean rolled his eyes, wondering in what mess he was. Taking care of civilians, he was used to it and had no problem with it but helping two hunters’ kids tracking a freaking demon it was another story.

“So,” Sam started as he opened the door and climbed in the passenger seat. “Where are we going?” he finally asked as he closed the door.

The brothers turned their faces and looked at the twins. After pondering for a bit, Abbigail decided that the best place to start was the forest where the fought with the demon, they might find some hints there.

Dean started the engine and drove silently, some classic rock filling the car. He could feel someone staring at him and with one glance in the mirrorview he noticed a pair of green eyes staring at him.

“What?” he asked after a moment, feeling uneasy under such a stare.

Abbigail quickly looked away, her attention now focused on the road. “Nothing, it’s just…” She glimpsed at him once more. “You look tense.”

“Well, I don’t like it when someone’s staring at me.” Dean mumbled more for himself but the girl heard it anyway.

“Sorry.” She whispered, her head low. She smiled slightly at her brother when he grabbed her hand on his lap, the boy giving her a soft, sorry smile.

The tension filled quickly in the car after that and Sam was about to change the subject when his phone rang.

“Hey Bobby, what’s up?” He greeted but soon the smile fell when the gravelly voice over the phone explained something.

“What? When?” Sam asked, and the sudden change in his tone worried Dean who glanced at his brother, silently asking him what was going on.

“Y-yeah. Of course. Got it. Thank you Bobby, talk to you soon.” Sam ended the call and sighed heavily.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on or what?” Dean finally asked.

Sam’s face turned towards him, his face showing the worry he really felt.

“Plans have changed. We’re going to the hospital.” Sam said, hoping it would be enough of an explanation. Of course, it would be too easy knowing his brother. Dean’s brows furrowed in confusion.

“It’s Y/N.” Sam finally admitted.


	5. Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There won't be an update next week, as I’m going to spend Christmas at my mom’s home. I won’t have a computer with me, so sorry. I’ll start to update this story by the end of the year (fortunately). Thank you again for reading, and feel free to comment and share your thoughts, I love reading it! ^^

The room felt cold and uninviting. The repeating beeps should be a sound comforting and reassuring but it was getting on Dean’s nerves. Sam and him had reached the hospital Bobby had told them. They came to the nurse’s office, telling them they were Agents Leyton and Harris from the FBI and that they were here for their partner, Leia Swan.

The nurse, Kate according to her nametag, a cute petite blonde nodded and pushed her chair, standing up and asking for them to follow her. He didn’t want to come, but Sam forced him to, saying that it would be easier if they were two. After so many years, Dean still felt angry. He hated her for her betrayal and the horrible things she said about him. How could she called herself his best friend? How dare she? He knew he would never get over this.

So why was he feeling a pang in his chest when he finally saw her in the hospital bed? Kate had opened the door and entered in the private room first, leading the way. She stood at the bed’s feet and stared at the unconscious body laying in the middle of the room.

“Poor thing. Sometimes I forget how dangerous your job is.” She whispered, hugging herself.

“Yeah.” Sam cleared his throat, rubbing the tip of his nose with his index finger.

“I’ll go look for her doctor.” The nurse added before leaving.

Dean was too focused on the strange mixed feels. For more than a decade he clearly loathed Y/N, to the point of erasing her name from his memory. And here, he was feeling bad for her, witnessing her fragile state. Even Sam remembered him that during his last year before going to Hell, he thought about her and not in the way he would like to. He didn’t know why, among all the women he knew, Dean thought about her in that way. She looked exactly like the last time he had seen here, the teenage girl he had known. His strange brain made her look like a bit older but the face was still the same.

“She looks so small.” Sam’s voice disturbed his trail of thoughts. He took a good look at her. Her eyes were closed, her Y/H/C hair framing her pale face. There was so many tubes connecting her to several machines, and that infuriating constant beeping noise was driving Dean crazy.

Dean closed his eyes, pursing his lips. “Come on man, it’s not like she’s dead.” He reminded him.

“Dean!” Sam admonished him, he still didn’t know what happened between them but that didn’t excuse his behavior.

“Gentlemen.” The doctor excused himself as he entered the room. He introduced himself as Dr Richards. Dark short hair, a bit of grey just above his ears, round face with a pair of glasses resting on his nose. He was certainly the one in charge here.

Both Winchesters turned around, greeting him. While Dean kept glancing at Y/N’s unmoving body, Sam started to speak.

“Executive Assistant Director Duke told us to come here ASAP. You found his phone number in Y/N’s stuff, is that right? What happened?” He asked, as he referred to Bobby’s alias. 

The doctor nodded, confirming Sam’s first sentence. “Found her on the steps in front of the hospital, as if someone left her there, for dead. We gave her all our attention but…” 

“But?” Dean repeated, he couldn’t stop himself as his heart bit harder in his chest.

“She lost a lot of blood.” Dr Richards sighed before grabbing his notes. “We weren’t sure she would make it. I’ve lost a lot of patients for less.” Then he looked up at the brothers, a small smile on his face. “She’s a warrior. We think she’s safe now. The transfusion did well.”

The brothers let out the breath they were holding. Sam kept on asking questions as Dean came closer, inspecting Y/N’s sleeping form. He noticed the marks around her wrists, and a big bruise on the side of her face. Dean’s hand curled into a fist without him noticing. On the other side of her neck, there was a small bandage.

“What’s that for?” He asked the Doctor who looked at him.

“There’s a little wound in her neck, certainly made by a needle.” Dr Richards said, then he nodded as Dean asked silently for the permission to take a look.

He pulled on the bandage carefully and indeed there was the sign of a prick. Was she attacked by a Djinn? How stupid was she for hunting a Djinn on her own?

After a few minutes, Dr Richards excused himself, telling Sam that was all he knew and he needed to check on a few other patients. Sam thanked him and turned to Dean once they were left alone.

“What do you think?” He asked his brother, folding his notepad into his vest pocket.

“Looks like a Djinn. I can’t believe she’s that reckless. Stupid move.” Dean said in a disapproving tone.

“Well, it’s not like she has a choice.” Sam told him, not liking Dean’s tone.

Dean only shrugged, he had enough already. Even if he felt a bit bad for her once they had seen her, all his anger and hatred rushed into his body again. She was the one who betrayed him after all.

The brothers left the hospital room soon after, the nurse said that she wasn’t going to wake up today. They entered in the motel room they rented a few blocks near the hospital. The twins sat up straighter on the bed once the Winchesters came in.

“So? How is your friend?” James asked as he watched Sam throwing his jacket on the other bed before sitting on it. The tall hunter nodded, a silent way for him to tell the kids that their friend was doing fine. Sam swore he saw the relief on their faces.

“Who is she for you, by the way?” Abbigail asked, standing up from the bed and rummaging through the mini fridge, pulling out a few bottles of water before handing them to the boys.

“No one important.” Dean said sternly, ignoring Abby’s extended hand and walking into the bathroom.

***

A few days later, you opened your eyes slowly. Your sight falling on a colorful blurry image. You blinked a few times before your recognized your favorite flowers, standing proudly in a white vase, next to your head.

“You’re awake!” A female voice exclaimed, forcing you to turn your attention on the opposite side of the room.

At the end of your bed stood a young woman, judging by her outfit you quickly knew she was a nurse. She smiled softly at you as she put the papers back in the rack at the end of your bed.

“Your partners were getting restless. You scared them pretty well.” She said as she came closer, checking your vitals.

Partners? You thought, closing your eyes as a sharp pain coursed through your body. Right on queue, two men entered the room.

“Speaking of the Devil.” The nurse smirked as she recognized the men. She nodded and winked at you before leaving the three of you alone.

The silence between you was horrible. None of you wanted to speak first, Sam was staring at you while you kept your focus on him. From the corner of your eyes you could see Dean having a particular interest in the street view.

You rolled your eyes, having enough already.

“What are you doing here?” You asked, your throat, hurting a bit from the lack of use.

“Bobby asked us to keep an eye on you.” Sam was the one who spoke.

You nodded thoughtfully, of course that old grumpy man was the one behind all of it. You needed to ask him how he knew. “Well, as you can see, I’m fine. So thank you. Goodbye.” You said as you tried to get out from your bed. You might have overestimated your strength as you nearly fell, fortunately, Sam was quick to react and within one step was at your side to prevent you from falling. 

“Thanks.” You smiled genuinely at him. You could feel the strong grip around your shoulder.

“What happened?” Sam asked as he helped you to sit on the bed. You knew that kind of face, he was asking you information about your case.

“Oh no, no, no, Sam.” You pushed him softly. “This bastard attacked me. This is personal. You won’t steal my case.”

“What was it? A Djinn? A vamp?” Dean asked, speaking for the first time since he entered and ignoring you perfectly. You glared at him and noticed that he was still looking through the window.

“None of your business, Winchester.” You said coldly.

Dean hummed, and after a while, turned his gaze towards you. If looks could kill, you would be dead already. You glared at him, two could play this game. The room fell silent as both of you started a staring contest.

“Y/N,” Sam tried to draw your attention, his big hand engulfing yours. “You know as much as I do, that Bobby won’t let you go alone. As you said, it’s personal. This is your choice. Him or us.”

You closed your eyes, knowing perfectly that Sam was right.

“Give me a minute, then we’ll leave.” You sighed, as you looked around, looking for your stuff. You had to sneak out from the hospital as quickly as possible.

You jaws clenched when you heard, Dean’s ironic voice. “Awesome.”

Thanks to Sam, and his ability to sweet talking people around him, you didn’t have to sneak out. The doctor accepted to let you leave as long as you promised to rest and come back to check everything was fine.

The drive to the motel was silent, despite everything Sam tried to do to enlighten the mood. You weren’t talking about the case yet, and even trivial things would make you speak. When he tried to turn on the radio, Dean was quick to turn it off. Yep, he wasn’t in the mood either. Fantastic, Sam thought.

As soon as the car was parked, Dean climbed off, ignoring his brother or you and heading straight for the room. Sam sighed as he stood outside, looking in his brother’s direction. 

“I still think it’s a bad idea, Sam.” You mumbled, your grip tightening around your duffel bag.

Sam shook his head, forcing an encouraging smile as he pushed you towards their motel room. “We’re hunters, Y/N. Let’s just ignore the past and keep it professional.” He said as he pushed the door open, motioning you to enter first. You heard someone talking in the room, the voice female and kind of stressed.

“Professional, huh?” You repeated, doubting that it would be easy.

“We need to find…” A young teenager said, her back to you as you entered. Another boy was sitting on a bed in front of her, his head snapped in your direction.

“…Mom.” She said in a whisper as she turned around and her eyes fell on you.

Three pairs of eyes were staring at you, you shifted from one foot to the other, feeling uncomfortable.

You cleared your throat and put your duffel bag near the door.

“Wrong person. Y/N, nice to meet you.” You said to the girl, who was still looking at you in a very strange way. You turned towards Sam, hoping to draw the attention off you. “When did you become baby-sitters?”

God bless Sam, he helped you getting rid of the weird tension in the room as he started to introduce you to the two kids.

“Y/N, this is Abigail and James. James, Abby, this is Y/N. We’re helping them on their case.” Sam said. While you were focused on the kids, you missed Sam’s stare, as if he was expecting some recognition from you but there was nothing. Judging by your attitude, their were strangers to you.

“Another case, huh?” You asked. This was your chance to get rid of the brothers. “Well, while you’re helping the kids, I’ll rent my own room and work on my own.”

“Wait a minute.” Sam said as he stopped you from leaving, his strong arm wrapping around your shoulders. “We can perfectly work two cases at a time.”

“Yeah, yeah.” You sighed, defeated. You knew Sam was stubborn. You unwrapped his arm and slumped on the nearest chair. “Let’s get to work, then!”

Sam nodded, satisfied. One down, just one left. “Where’s Dean?” He asked the twins who simply pointed at the closed bathroom’s door.

He walked towards the bathroom and hit on the door loudly. His brother was sure taking his time.

After a few seconds of silence, Sam looked at the door, a weird feeling nagging him. He knocked on the door again. “Dean?” 

Still no answer.

“Whatever you’re doing, I’m coming in.” Sam announced as his fingers curled around the door knob. With the lack of answer from the bathroom, Sam glanced at the twins, then at you. None of you could tell him what Dean was doing.

Sam opened the door slowly at first and peeked inside. He opened it fully when he noticed the room was empty.

“Dean?” Sam called as he searched into the room.

“Where is he?” You asked, standing up. You tried to hide the worry in your voice.

“I- I don’t know.” Sam said, the concern visible on his face.


	6. On the head of a pin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! It had taken me much longer than expected to finish this one.  
> I hope you'll enjoy it.

With a third phone call ending with the answering machine, Sam knew something happened to Dean and he started to feel anxious. Dean wouldn’t leave without telling him, no matter what. Sam knew his brother wasn’t particularly happy to be near Y/N, but it wasn’t a reason for him to disappear. Something bad happened to him and there was only one person who could help them.

“I need to call someone. I’ll be back.” Sam said as he left the motel room, leaving Y/N and the twins alone.

The silent in the room was unpleasant. Nor the kids, nor you knew what to say to start a conversation. You could feel Abby watching you and you felt uncomfortable. The girl was strangely familiar but the way she was looking at you gave you strange vibes. James was silent too, but contrary to his sister he wasn’t looking at you. On the contrary, he was doing his best to avoid your gaze, as if he was trying to hide something from you. Like a child being scared of being scolded.

“So, huh… You’re hunters?” You asked.

The twins glanced at each other before answering.

“Not really. Our parents are hunters and taught us how to hunt but more to protect ourselves than anything.” The girl said, and you knew that she was telling the truth just by looking at her face.

You nodded, feeling sad for them. You understood since it was your life too. Your parents taught you how to fight when you were just a kid, told you to be scared of the dark and of the things that could bump in the night. And that’s why you were angry with them, they put you in this life, despite your own will. 

“This is not a life.” You said, surprising the kids.

“What do you mean?” James asked.

You stood up from your seat and walked towards the sink, taking a glass and filling it with water.

“I’m not judging but,” you started before drinking it. “I would never force my children to hunt. Which sane parents would want this kind of life for their kids?” You added, voir voice a bit softer as if you were saying it more to yourself.

Abbigail scoffed and James stood up abruptly, his hands curled into fists. 

“They did their best!” James defended, a bit harshly, surprising you. “Our parents are the best parents a kid would dream of. They didn’t force us into anything, they protected us and now it’s our turn to protect them!”

“And that’s exactly what I’m talking about. You don’t have to protect them.” You added gently, you didn’t want to upset the boy but he needed to understand your point.

“Shut up!” James shouted angrily.

“James!” Abbigail’s hands curled around his shoulders, trying to calm him down.

“No Abby! She doesn’t know what she’s talking about!” He said to his sister before looking at Y/N again, but this time you could see the anger in his Y/E/C’s eyes.

“They tried to keep us out from this life but you know perfectly well that it's impossible! There’s always a demon or a werewolf or a stupid creature who wants us dead! This is exactly the reason why we’re here!”

“James enough!” Abbigail’s voice raised suddenly, stopping the argument.

Sam entered the room at this exact moment and he could feel the heavy tension between the three of you.

“Umm, I have news.” He started to explain before closing the door behind him and stopped walking once he was between the twins and Y/N. “A...friend can help us, hopefully. She’s coming here.”

“What do you mean by ‘helping us’? What’s going on, Sam?” You asked but someone knocking at the door prevent Sam to answer you.

The hunter went to the door and opened it, revealing a woman with dark hair and wearing black clothes. She was pretty and you understood why Sam was a bit uncomfortable by calling her a ‘friend’. The new girl and Sam must be closer than what he truly said.

“Thanks for coming, Ruby.” Sam greeted her as she walked inside, heading for the bathroom.

“Huh, I still can smell them.” Ruby said, disgusted.

“Smell? Who?” You asked, a bit taken aback by her words.

“Angels.” Ruby said as she headed towards the bathroom. 

“Excuse me?” You chuckled, not believing a word.

“Y/N, it’s a bit complicated.” Sam told you, you looked at his face and realized he wasn’t bothered by the sudden revelation about Angels, and with a quick look towards the twins, it seemed like they knew about their existence too.

“Sam-” You started, your brain full of questions but Ruby cut you short as she pulled a map from her bag and put it on the table in the middle of the motel room.

“I’ll explain everything once we know where Dean is. I promise.” Sam murmured, his big hand wrapping tightly around your right shoulder.

You fell silent, nodding only once and watched Ruby performing a spell. You didn’t like it, whenever magic was used, it wasn’t a good thing. Magic always came with a price. She took a candle and brought it to one of the corners of the map, igniting it. Ruby closed her eyes and started an incantation. Your blood turned cold when she opened her eyes and you noticed they were totally black. Without thinking you pushed the twins behind you, protecting them from the demon in front of you.

“Sam!” You shouted, not knowing what to do, you didn’t have a weapon on you.

“Hey, hey, hey.” I know Y/N. Relax.” Sam said in a hurry, holding his hands up, in an attempt to keep you calm.

“Relax? She’s a demon, Sam!” You shouted again, thinking your old friend was crazy.

“Yes. I know. She’s with us. I’ll tell you everything soon.”

“Stop!” Ruby’s voice startled everyone in the room as the map burned and the fire disappeared suddenly, leaving only a small piece of the map.

“There. Your brother’s there.” Ruby said as she grabbed her bag.

“Thanks Ruby.” Sam’s face was very serious, and the room fell silent for a moment. You and the kids, watching back and forth between Sam and the demon.

“Y/N, Abby, James, get in the car, we’re leaving soon.” Sam said without looking at any of you, his gaze focused on Ruby.

“But Sam-” You started to complain but he raised his voice, startling you and the kids.

“The car now!” Sam felt bad for yelling at you and he added a more softly as he turned to face you. “Please, I need to talk with Ruby about something. In private.” You gave in because of the guilty look he gave you.

“Come on kids.” You whispered as you grabbed their wrists gently, forcing them to follow you outside.

***

While driving toward your destination, Sam explained everything, as he promised. He told you about John’s death, about Yellow Eyes and Dean’s deal to bring Sam’s back. He told you about Lilith and your heart broke when you heard how Dean died and went to Hell. Even though you hated him, you wouldn’t wish this kind of fate to your worst enemy. You couldn’t even iamgine the kind of torture the hunter had to endure, and deep down you were angry with him for being so stupid to make such a deal. 

After that, Sam fell silent for the rest of the drive, just like anybody else in the car. From time to time you chanced a glance in his direction to make sure he was alright. At some point your heart skipped a beat as you swore you saw his eyes turning black. You blinked and shook your head before looking again and as his eyes were perfectly normal you thought you have dreamed it. All this story were making you feel paranoid and anxious.

Soon Sam parked the car in front of an old abandoned factory. Sam turned his face towards the twins and ordered them to stay in the car.

“You too, Y/N.” He added as he looked at you.

“What?” You exclaimed, dumbfounded. This was ridiculous. Dean was inside, probably hurt if nothing more and Sam wanted to fight them on his own? There was no way you would leave him alone. You were a hunter too.

“I mean it, Y/N. I don’t know what I’ll find inside.”

“Exactly! That’s why you need my help. Together we’ll be stronger.” You pleaded.

“I don’t have the time to argue with you.” Sam sighed.

“Then don’t argue and let me-” The sound of metal clicking stopped you and you looked at your wrist, wrapped in a handcuff. With a swift motion, Sam wrapped the other one around the steering wheel before exiting the car.

“Sam don’t be stupid!” You screamed as you watched him walking in front of the car. You called his name again and again but he simply ignored you and entered the old building.

You tried to free your hand by pulling on the handcuffs, twisting your wrist but nothing worked and you throw your head back on the headrest with a defeated sound. You closed your eyes, feeling the first symptoms of a headache coming and you took a deep breath.

Once you opened your eyes again, they fell on Abby’s reflection in the rearview mirror and you noticed the girl had twisted her hair into a bun.

“Please, tell me you have a hair pin.” You whispered, your eyes staring at her reflection.

Abbigail and James simply smirked at your question.

***

It only took you a few minutes to get rid of the handcuffs and once you were sure the twins were staying in the car you ran into the building. A strange bright light was coming from the room next to the one you have just entered, and you could hear voices and someone moaning in pain. Your first thought was that Dean might be in danger and you barged into the room without thinking.

The scene in front of you left you speechless. Sam was standing in the middle of the room, a bit breathless, next to him stood a man in a trench coat, his piercing blue eyes looking at your friend with a look of horror. Against the wall in front of them, laid a bloody man, his eyes his mouth wide open. Quickly you knew he was dead.

Then, in the other corner of the room you saw another bloody body laying on the ground in front of a strange metallic structure. You couldn’t see the man’s face but as your heart stopped you knew who it was.

“Dean!” You called his name as you run towards him, kneeling next to him and inspecting his injuries. He wasn’t moving and you feared you arrived too late.

“No, no, no. Dean talk to me.” You said in a strangled voice, your fingertips running all over his face. There was so much blood and injuries and he remained unconscious.

“I’ll bring him to the hospital.” The man in a trench coat said as he wrapped his fingers around Dean’s limp arm. In a blink, before you had the time to think, they had both disappeared.

“Where are they? What happened?” You asked Sam, you could feel the tears burning in your eyes from frustration.

“I don’t know. I’ll ask Castiel once we’ll be in the hospital. Come on, Y/N.” Sam said in a whisper as he helped you standing up. He saw the distress you were in and how could only imagine how lost you felt. He wanted to reassure you but he needed to check Dean’s condition first. 

Fortunately, there was only one hospital in this town and once you had arrived, the nurse at the front desk told you that doctors were already taking care of Dean. You waited anxiously with Sam and the twins in the corridors. After a while a doctor came in and told you that Dean’s condition was stable and that you could see him in his room if you wanted. Sam thanked the doctor before walking into his brother’s room.

Dean was still unconscious and now that the blood on his face had been cleaned off, you could clearly see all the injuries. Unwittingly, you wrapped an arm around Abbigail’s shoulders when you heard her gasp as she noticed Dean. The four of you took a seat and remained silent, watching over Dean, Sam taking the nearest seat. It was silent for a while, until Sam noticed someone at the door. You saw how quickly the sadness turned into anger when he recognized the intruder, it was the man in the trench coat, Castiel, according to Sam. Without a word, Sam left the room, certainly to have a word with the Angel- You still couldn’t believe they were real.

As the hours passed, Sam offered to bring you back to the motel, the doctors had told you there was a tiny chance for Dean to wake up tonight, since they gave him a lot of pain killer. So, after a short stop at the nearest diner, the four of you came back in the motel room and once you had eaten your food, the kids told you they were going to bed. The bid you goodnight and went into their own room, next door. Finally, Sam told you everything about Alistair, why the Angels needed Dean to torture him, and more importantly, he told you about the Apocalypse. Saying you were overwhelmed about the big truth was a euphemism and your only answer about all of this was that you wanted to take a shower.

You felt numb, everything was happening too quickly; meeting the Winchesters again, your own case, the twins’s case and now the Apocalypse. Were you really going head first in that mess? It was too big, even for you.

“Y/N?” Sam’s voice startled you and you realized you were in the room, Sam’s too big shirt in your hands. The tall man had offered you his clothes to sleep in.

You opened your mouth but no words came out at first. Then, what you said surprised you as much as it did Sam.

“I’ll bring him clean clothes. He’ll need it.”

“It’s late, I don’t think they will let you in.” Sam said, unsure as he watched you put a few clothes into a duffel bag.

“Won’t be my first break in.” You said mindlessly. 

“Hey,” Sam’s hand on the top of your head stopped you. “You alright? I know it’s a lot to take in and-”

“I’ll manage, Sammy.” You told him as you forced a small smile.

***

Just like you said, it wasn’t your first break in. You reached Dean’s room without being noticed by the staff. As you were about to enter the room, you noticed the door being slightly opened and heard voices. Carefully you came closer and listened.

“Did I start all this?” You didn’t recognized Dean’s voice at first, it was so weak and in pain.

“Yes.” You heard Castiel’s answer. “When we discovered Lillith’s plans for you, we lied siege to Hell and we fought our way to get to you before you-”

“Jump-started the Apocalypse.” You heard Dean finished the sentence and brought a hand toward your mouth to prevent any sound.

“We were too late.”

You closed your eyes as you heard Dean’s next sentence. “Why didn’t you just leave me there, then?” How could he say that? Wasn’t he happy to be free from Hell and its torments?

“You have to stop it.” Castiel continued.

“Lucifer? The Apocalypse? What does that mean?” And your heart ached as you heard the distress in Dean’s voice. As far as you could remember, you’ve never heard this kind of voice coming from him. He was always so cocky, so sure of himself, being the big guy, the big brother, the one in charge. It hurt you to hear him like this.

“I know that our fate lies with you.”

“Well, then you guys are screwed.” You knew he had reached his point when his voice broke. “I can’t do it, Cas. It’s too big. Alastair was right. I’m not all here. I’m not strong enough.”

You couldn’t stop the tears falling down your face as you listened.

“Well I guess I’m not the man either our dads wanted me to be. Find someone else. It’s not me.”


	7. It's a terrible Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I apologize for the long wait and sudden silent treatment. Life is a b**ch and wasn't very nice with me recently.
> 
> Anyway! Here comes the new chapter, I'm sorry I've been carried away with this one ^^"  
> Starting the next chapter, things are moving, a lot! I've already written the next chapters and reaching the end, so updates will be done regularly.
> 
> Thank you for reading and feel free to share your thoughts about this story, I'm really curious to know what you think.
> 
> WARNINGS: This chapter follows the episode 'It's a Terrible Life', so there's mentions of blood and deaths.

You ran and sneaked into the elevator just in time before the doors closed behind you. A breathy sigh passed your lips as you checked yourself in the huge mirror that covered the back of the elevator. Even if you were late and had to run to catch the elevator, your clothes were almost perfect, the grey pencil skirt slightly wrinkled, but the pale pink blouse and grey balser were still perfect. A few strands of hair had escaped the tight bun you made this morning, but nothing too much so you still could pretend it was made on purpose. You had a reputation to uphold after all, you were the new PA of the Director of the Human Resources department, you wanted to show them what you were made of. You’ve been working hard for this.

You took a deep breath, calming your hard beating heart, running when you’re wearing a pair of high heels wasn’t easy. As you checked the few rebel strands of hair in the mirror, you noticed you weren’t alone in the elevator. That was just your luck! You’ve been running late and you had Dean Smith, Director of Sales and Marketing at Sandover Bridge & Iron Inc, as a witness.You bit your bottom lip to prevent any whining sound escaping your mouth, acting as if nothing was wrong. He didn’t seem to notice you, that was a good thing. Maybe you’ll be able to pretend that you weren’t late after all.

As you reached your floor, the double doors opened and Mr. Smith stepped to the side, leaving room for you to walk out. As you passed the double doors, his voice stopped you in your tracks.

“Huh Miss?”

“Yes?” You asked as you turned around.

That’s when you saw them, two beautiful green eyes staring at you, as if they were looking into your soul. You’ve been working for this company for three weeks, and of course you’ve heard of Mr. Smith. Every woman in the building was talking about him, saying how his looks were as great as his hard work. The man was very good in this job, and you believed it, he was already in such a high position despite his young age. Handsome and talented.

You realized that you’ve been zoning out when you felt something brushing your hand; your purse.

“Being late is always stressful, right?” He said, amusement clear in his voice, forcing you to focus on the reality again and you grabbed the purse he was handing you.

“T-thanks. I wasn’t- I’m not-”

Mr. Smith chuckled a bit, “Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me.” He added in a whisper as the double doors closed again, separating the both of you.

You blinked a few times, wondering what happened to you. Granted the man was good looking, but you’ve never been in such a daze. How old were you? Come on girl, get a grip!

As you turned around, deciding to forget what had just happened, someone stepped on you, the force of it almost making you fall.

“Oh my God! I’m so sorry!” A male voice said as two big, firm hands grabbed your shoulders, preventing your fall.

“No, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t stand in front of the elevator.” You excused yourself, looking up at the man.

He was tall, and kind of cute.Judging by the yellow polo he was wearing, the guy might be from the Tech Support department. Both of you were silent for a moment, and soon you felt uncomfortable as he kept his hands around your shoulders and looked at you strangely.

“Do I-” he started to ask but once you glanced at your watch you remembered that you were late.

“Oh shit! I’m sooo late now! Thank you. Bye.” You said in a hurry as you started to dash for your office.

The rest of the day wasn’t as bad as you started it. Your boss wasn’t there once you reached your office, and you could act as if everything was normal once he came in. Of course, him being late, meant that your day would be longer than normal. He always had a last, important task for you, forcing you to wait for him to call it a night for the both of you. 

As you waited for the elevator, you saw from the corner of your eyes that your boss was patting his vest and his pants, searching for something.

“Ah damn it! Forgot my phone. Don’t wait for me, Y/N. Good night.” He said as he walked back into his office.

“Good night, sir.” You told him, as the sound of the elevator dinged. 

Two men were already in it, and they moved slightly on the sides to give you room to get in. Once the double doors closed again, the elevator was silent. As usual, when several people are standing in an elevator, the common sense asked for them to be silent and pretend nothing was awkward. You clutched your purse with your hands in front of you and looked at the floor. From the corner of your eyes, you glanced at Mr. Smith who was deeply concentrating on his phone. On the other side, there was the tech man from this morning. You shifted slightly on your feet as you felt his gaze on you.

“Do I know you?” The tech man asked, staring at you as you lifted your face and looked back at him.

You remained silent, feeling more and more uncomfortable, you looked away. Quickly your gaze fell on Mr. Smith.

“I don’t think so.” He said, and you thanked him silently he was the one to answer the tech man for the both of you.

“I’m sorry. You just look familiar.” The man kept the conversation going, you could feel his eyes on you. Never lifting your head, you glanced at him and you felt a funny feeling in your chest. The pleading look the tech man was giving you, as if he was silently asking you to confirm his doubts. You had to admit that he kind of looked familiar but maybe was it because you’ve seen him earlier this morning?

Your lips parted slightly as you were going to answer him but the double doors opened suddenly and Mr. Smith was quick to exit the elevator.

“Save it for the health club, pal.” Mr. Smith added before leaving. You glanced at the tech man and cleared your throat as you walked through the double doors.

“Huh, good night.” You told him quietly and left.

As you climbed into your car, you allowed yourself to think calmly about the strange incident in the elevator. You were a bit worried, contrary to what Mr. Smith implied you didn’t think the tech man was flirting. At first you did, but when he said that you looked familiar you couldn’t shake the strange feeling. He looked familiar, indeed, especially the pleading look. You jumped slightly in your seat and gasped when you heard someone knocking against the driver window. A trembling hand pressed against your beating heart as you calmed down and realized that the intruder was simply Mr. Smith.

“You alright?” He asked as you opened your window a bit.

You nodded, swallowing dryly. “Yeah, I’m a bit tired that’s all. Long day.” You reassured him, forcing a tight, little smile. Judging by the concerned look he was giving you, you knew he wasn’t buying it.

“Good night, Mr. Smith.” You said as you started to close the window. You watched him stepping back as you started your car. Once he was at a safe distance you drove away.

***

This week has been a living hell! 

It started with a strange encounter, the tech man- whose name was Sam Wesson you learned the next day- was more present than you’d liked in your path. There wasn’t a day without seeing him, was it at the corner of a corridor, during a painfully tensed and silent ride in the elevator, or just like now, watching you from the other side of the room, as the medical team left with the corpse of Ian, another tech support worker. A man you barely knew before being the witness of his suicide.

It was the second suicide this week. First Paul, who also worked in the tech support department. The way he chose to end his life was rather disturbing and must have been painful. You were so glad you weren’t the one to find him that morning, a few coworkers affirmed that the smell of burned flesh was still there. Now it was Ian turn, another disturbing suicide. The image of Ian lying on the floor, his blood pooling around him quickly. You knew the human body had a lot of blood but seeing it on the floor was very frightening. Mr. Smith's voice screaming for help was still ringing in your head. Apparently he was the one who tried to stop him but it had been in vain.

As you were living the deadly moment again in your head you felt fingers wrapped around your wrist. Looking up, your eyes stared at the pair of green, worried eyes in front of you. You hadn’t realized the cops have left.

“Come on.” Mr. Smith whispered gently, pulling you with him as he headed for his office.

Once the both of you were inside, he closed the door and brought you towards the comfy couch in the corner of his room. Two strong hands wrapped around your shoulders and pushed gently on it, forcing you to sit. It was like you weren’t controlling your own body and needed someone to guide you. As you sat there, you kept thinking about the suicides. Two within a few days, both from the tech support department. After his death, you learned that Paul’s retirement date was just a few weeks later. Why would he commit suicide? And what about Ian? Since you worked for the HR department, you knew a bit about Ian. He was a hot topic among your co-workers. The man never accepted to wear the tech support uniform, spent most of his time drinking coffee rather than solving computer problems, and a few of your co-workers suspected he stole office supplies. Ian wasn’t the type of man to commit suicide because of his work.

“Hey,” A gentle voice brought you back to the present, and you saw a white shirt in front you. Your fingers curled around the soft material and looking up you noticed that Mr. Smith had changed his clothes. When you remembered the blood covering his shirt, you realized that you were in the same state as him. Mr. Smith turned around, giving you some privacy to change and with trembling fingers you started to unbutton your blue blouse. You didn’t even care that it was one of your favorites and that it was just good for the trash now that it was drenched in blood.

“Thank you.” You said softly once the new shirt was covering your body, signaling Mr. Smith that it was clear. He gave you a glass of water that you accepted quickly, you hadn’t realized how dry your throat was.

“Are you alright?” He asked while you drank the whole thing without stopping.

You nodded once and inhaled sharply. “Seems like that’s all you’re asking me recently.” You said as you tried to bring another topic to discuss, you weren’t ready to talk about what you’ve both seen.

Mr. Smith knelt at your feet and chuckled at your words but quickly became serious again. 

“Miss Colt, what happened down there…” He started, but you really didn’t want to think about it right now.

“You know my name?” You asked, a bit surprised but also knowing it would change the topic again.

Mr. Smith was taken aback by your question for a second, then lowered his gaze and bit the corner of his bottom lip.

“Well, of course,” He said as he stared at you again, the former discomfort he felt, totally vanished. “You’re from the HR department, very efficient apparently. Mr. Adler thinks very highly of you.” He smiled.

It was your turn to be surprised. Never would you think that your work was recognized so much that Mr. Adler himself would talk about it. You didn’t have time to think about it as warm fingertips brushed against your skin, your mind going blank at the feeling. Mr. Smith was pushing back a strand of hair that had fallen in front of your eyes.

“Miss Colt,” Mr. Smith whispered, your eyes trailing the tip of his tongue that ran across his lovingly pink lips. “You can feel it too, right?” He asked in a breath, his tone unsure.

“W-what?” You stuttered, not daring to speak louder than him. 

“This, this feeling.” He added, as if you would understand what he was talking about.

“I- I don’t know.” You told him, breaking eye contact, your heart jumping in your chest. Was he flirting? True, deep down you felt something, but the man was an eye candy, it wouldn’t be difficult for you to be attracted to him. Why would he bring this right now? The time wasn’t right, you’ve both witnessed a suicide and he was bringing this? You’ve seen enough rom com and read a lot of romantic novels to know that a shocking experience would let the heroes of the story realize the feelings they share, but living it was another story.

“I think so but,” you started to say, unsure of what you were going to say. It wasn’t right to confess something right now.

“I knew it.” Mr. Smith smiled, comforted by your answer. “Those suicides, something’s wrong.” he added as he stood up and walked towards his desk and grabbed his phone.

“Huh?” You blinked several times, blushing furiously as you watched Mr. Smith called someone and asked for them to come into his office. Once the call was over, he rested in front of his desk, his back pressed against the wood, one ankle crossed over the other, his head low as he was lost in his thoughts. 

After a moment someone knocked at the door and if you were honest, you weren’t so much surprised when Sam Wesson entered. Quickly, the previous embarrassment you felt vanished and the three of you talked about the strange things that were going on in this building. Then you brought the fact that Paul and Ian, both received an email asking for them to come to HR room n°1444. Strange fact, the HR department was on the seventh floor. Both men looked at you strangely.

“What? I’m from HR, I just used my natural resources.” You told them, looking through the huge window behind Mr. Smith’s desk.

“Truly efficient.” Mr. Smith smiled, his praising tone giving you goosebumps.

“So, you’re suggesting to take a look at this room?” Mr. Wesson asked.

“I have to admit that I’m a bit curious, Mr. Wesson.” You nodded, never saying the words. You weren’t noisy. Being noisy was bad in your line of work. But curiosity was always a quality your bosses valued.

“Please, call me Sam.” He smiled at you.

“Alright Sam.” You smiled back. You couldn’t help the strange feeling you had when his name came out. Like it wasn’t the first time you said it.

Someone cleared his throat, Sam and you looking at Dean who headed for the door. “Alright, let’s go check, then.” He said in a gruffy tone.

You gave Sam a questioning look as you were still into the office, the tall man just shrugged his shoulders.

***

Something was really wrong with you. One would think that discovering that ghosts were real, you would scream and run far, far away. You on the contrary, you were excited. And you weren’t the only one. 

As the three of you entered Dean's apartment -while you went to check the room n°1444, Mr Smith said it would be easier to be less formal-, Dean couldn’t help himself and exclaimed his own excitement. You grabbed the bottle of water Dean gave you and Sam. As you drank half of the water in one go, you listened to what the men were saying.

“It’s like...we’ve done this before.” Sam said, and you nodded slightly, sharing the same feeling.

You didn’t know why but once the ghost stood in front of you, after a few seconds of shock, your body moved as if you were used to it. You didn’t know why or how, and certainly you would never have thought that ghosts were scared of wrenches, but you grabbed it nonetheless and used it against the monster.

“I can’t explain this. It’s just like...something in my blood.” He tried to explain, and you couldn’t help but understand him perfectly.

You weren’t like what Sam said, you didn’t dislike your name or your job, not really, but you weren’t happy either. You needed more than just this happy apple pie life. The blood rush and excitement you felt when you fought with the ghost, that’s what you were missing. When Sam asked what it was like for you and Dean, your lips parted, ready to share your thoughts with them but Dean spoke first.

“I don’t believe in destiny.” That sentence prevented you from saying more.

After a few seconds, they decided to do some research. You needed to take care of this ghost problem. However you needed some serious change of clothes if you were gonna fight it. You told the men you needed to go back to your own apartment and promised you would be quick.

When you came back, the boys had found a video from some sort of experts: the GhostFacers. They also have identified the ghost and were learning how to kill it. You came closer, standing next to Dean’s side who were totally focused on the video. You bend slightly over his shoulder, listening carefully. He glanced towards you, then took a double take, looking at your change of clothes.

“That’s quite different.” He whispered as his eyes roamed over you.

You looked at yourself, checking if something was wrong but when you saw nothing in particular you shrugged. You were simply wearing a pair of jeans, a black tee shirt and a pair of sneakers. Something comfy and useful.

“What? You were expecting me to fight this ghost in a pair of heels and a tight skirt?” You chuckled.

The amused smile on your face disappeared when you saw him licking his lips, then shook his head.

“Would have been a hell of a sight but you’re right, this is better.” 

You felt your cheeks heating and chose to ignore the feeling, now was not the time. You cringed when you heard the GhostFacers say that you needed to burn the remains, which means the corpse. You really weren’t looking forward to digging a hole in the middle of the night and having the smell of burning flesh surrounding you. Goosebumps awoke on your skin as you remembered what your co-worker said about Paul. Sam seemed to notice your discomfort and tried to soothe you by rubbing his warm hand against your arm. You smiled at him, thanking him silently for the kind gesture. He smiled back and both of you didn’t notice how Dean reacted at the gentle and friendly gesture. If looks could kill…

When they discovered that Sanders had been cremated, you let out a short breath, happy that you weren’t going to do something illegal. The guys in the video told you that you still have a chance, you simply needed to find and burn some genetic remains, like some hair or piece of skin. That you could bear with.

Once everything was ready, the three of you headed for the building again and reached the 14th floor quickly. You checked the room again, looking for some personal belongings where you could find some human remains. Your heart stopped when an unknown voice asked you what you were doing here. You turned around and saw a security man standing in front of you and Sam, Dean nowhere in sight.

Both of you tried to explain that you were working for the company but the security man didn’t have any of it and escorted you to the elevator. Panic rising within your body when he spoke about the cops. You glanced at Sam as the double doors closed. What were you going to do ?

Your fingers wrapped tightly around Sam’s forearm when you noticed the screen of the elevator acting funny. When you noticed the white smoke coming out from Sam’s mouth, your eyes widened but you didn’t have time to understand what was going on as the elevator started to shake strongly before everything stopped. Without thinking, Sam wrapped your frame with his arms, in a vain attempt to protect you. You watched silently as the security man tried to open the doors. When he asked you to follow him out, you shook your head slightly as you fisted your hands into Sam’s shirt. You’ve seen enough horror movies to know that it was a very bad idea.

The man didn’t listen to you and climbed out, with difficulty if you were honest, the guy wasn’t as fit as you thought. The sound of metal cracking around you wasn’t reassuring and you looked at Sam, feeling uneasy.

“Sam…” You called, fear rising in your voice, as the security man was finally out and looked at you, expecting you to follow him.

“Seriously, we’ll wait.” 

“Look, I won’t wait the rest of my life here,” he started to say angrily, coming forward.

The elevator shook some more and before you had time to realize what was going on, the metal box went down suddenly. You closed your eyes and gasped as you felt something warm splashing all over your face and top body.

“You’re okay?” Dean’s voice came out from your and Sam’s phones. While you stared at half of the body lying at your feet, your body trembling from the shock, you heard Sam saying you were calling him back.

***

Sam was already waiting for you when you exited the lady restroom, your face cleared of the blood, well more or less. You looked down and swallowed with difficulty when you saw all the blood on your clothes, they were good for the trash bin as well.

“Dean’s waiting for us on floor 22.”

“We’ll take the stairs.” You told him as you followed him. The bitch face he gave you would have made you laugh, if you weren’t in this situation. 

Finally you reached the 22th floor, Sam already far ahead.

“Wow. That’s a lot of blood.” You heard Dean said, if only he knew.

“Yeah, I know.” Sam replied, both men looking at each other, not really knowing what to say.

As you entered the room and stood behind them, you heard Dean’s panicked voice.

“Wait… Where’s Y/N?”

“I’m here.” You said quickly, no need to scare him more than what he was already.

He turned around in a swift motion, relief covering his face as he heard your voice, telling him you were still alive. But the smile fell quickly when he saw you covered in blood. In two big steps he had already reached you and his hands gripped your shoulders, his eyes running all over your body as if he was inspecting for any injury.

“Not mine.” You whispered.

You swore you saw his body moving slightly towards you, the movement so inconspicuous, as if he wanted to hug you but stopped himself as soon as he thought about it. He nodded his head a few times, still watching you and making sure you were safe.

“I’m fine.” You said softly, your right hand curling around his arm and caressing him in a soothing manner.

“Right,” he cleared his throat and looked at Sam. The three of you stood in front of a small glass box that contained a pair of old gloves. According to the little board next to it, it was Sander’s gloves, the one he used when he builded the bridge. At last, you’ve found some remains to burn.

When Dean broke the glass window, you stayed behind the boys, making sure no more security guy would come while you took care of the ghost. You couldn’t wait for this to be over. However when you sighed to calm your nerves, you noticed the white smoke coming out. Your eyes widened in fear and you didn’t have the time to warn the boys before you saw Sandover behind them, pushing them violently in opposite directions.

As the old man’s ghost walked towards Sam, you grabbed the bottle of salt that had rolled at your feet and threw it in the ghost’s direction, making it disappear. You didn’t have time to be delighted as Sandover’s ghost appeared again behind Dean. Sam threw him an iron poker to defend himself. The ghost kept appearing and disappearing between the guys, at some point they hit him at the same time and you couldn’t help but be amazed at their team work. Then all Hell broke loose as the ghost sent you flying against a wall, then the boys. The three of you were laying down the floor or against a wall, a bit dizzy. As you shook your head, your vision troubled, you saw the ghost flying just in front of you, the movement so quick it scared you. With your back pressed against the wall, you didn’t know what to do. Your heart beating hard in your chest as your eyes focused on Sandover’s hand. Little electric arcs came out from his fingers as he brought his hand towards your face. This was it. Your end. You shut your eyes tight and turned your face slightly on the side as you waited for the painful touch. But something warm and heavy covered most of your body, a hard chest protecting your face.

The sound of something burning startled you and after a few seconds of total silence you heard Sam’s voice from the other side of the room. The old Sandover was nowhere in sight.

“That was amazing!”

Slowly Dean and you parted, his hands still on your hips as he checked if you were alright. You nodded slightly, breathing deeply as you tried to calm down your heart. But what Dean did a few seconds later was ruining all your efforts. You felt his arms wrap around your shoulders and bring you against him in a tight hug, then soft lips kissing the top of your head before his body went rigid at the sweet and unexpected gesture.

“S-sorry, I” Dean stuttered letting go of you rapidly as if you had burned him.

“S’alright.” You shook your head and smiled sheepishly. You had to admit that you missed the contact that felt for no reason, somewhat familiar.

***

You entered Dean's office and stopped at the door, watching the boys walking around. Dean picked out a first aid kit from his desk and you went for it, pushing his hands away and opening the box yourself, looking for the medical stuff. You gave Sam some gauze and pushed on Dean’s chest gently, forcing him to sit next to Sam on his desk. You took more gauze and put on some disinfectant on it and cleaned the wound on the top of Dean’s forehead. He watched you intently and you gave him a small smile and shrugged, as if you were telling him ‘Hey! You protected me, that’s the least I could do.’

The boys started to talk together, telling how cool the events of the night were and how you should continue doing it. You agreed with Sam, even though you were scared as hell, the adrenaline coursing through your veins felt so good. However, Dean wasn’t sharing your opinion. He explained how crazy your life would be and more importantly how dangerous it could be.

Then Sam told you about his dreams and how he dreamt of him and Dean fighting monsters together. You could help but ask him if you were in his dreams too. A shake of his head was his silent negative answer. Well, this one hurt. You weren’t fighting with them. Oh how hard you wanted it to be real. You stepped on the side as Dean stood up, getting angrier the more Sam tried to explain what his dreams and feelings were. 

“You should go.” He told Sam, the poor man watching him with a pleading look. He glanced at you, asking for some help, he knew you were like him, you were feeling it too. This need to fight and protect innocent people. Your hands curled into fists and you faced the other way, breaking eye contact with Sam. You couldn’t help him, after all you weren’t in his dreams. This was not your life, no matter how much you wanted it to be.

Sam left, and the silence in the room was unbearable. You started to clean the desk of the medical supplies, throwing the used gauzes in the trash bin and closing the first aid kit. Dean stayed silent the whole time, watching you walking around him. His hard face softened when you came closer and stopped in front of him, a few centimeters between your bodies. It pained you to see him so lost, debating inside his head what was the right thing to do. Gently, you cupped the side of his face and he leaned in right away. The touch, soft and comforting. As your thumb caressed his cheekbone you pressed your lips on his other cheek.

“I should go too.” You breathed against his skin before you stepped back and broke the contact.

“Wait.” Dean pleaded, grabbing your wrist.

You gave him a sad smile and pushed his hand away slowly.

“Good night, Mr. Smith.”

***

The next day, you were walking into the building, determined. The lack of sleep should wear you out but the decision you made in the early hours gave you all the energy you needed. You ignored the strange stares from the people around you and walked steadily towards a certain office.

Dean jumped in his seat as his door opened suddenly, his eyes widening as he saw you standing at the door.

“Y/N? I mean, Miss Colt, what are you doing here? Everything is alright?” He asked, standing up and walking around his desk as you closed the door, giving you some privacy.

“I’ve been thinking the whole night and I came to the decision that I don’t want to have any regrets.” You said, looking him in the eyes. You didn’t let him speak as you kept on talking. 

“Sam’s right. I can feel it too. This...this need to fight the monsters, make the world a bit more liveable, the need to protect innocent people. I don’t like my life, it doesn’t even feel like my life to be honest.” Dean lowered his head, looking at the floor.

You took a deep breath. “I quit. I don’t know what’s going to happen but I know that I’ve never felt so alive as far as I can remember.”

Dean’s head snapped in your direction, the worry clearly visible on his face. “Okay, but why are you here? I’m not your superior.”

You smirked. “As I said, I don’t want to have any regrets.” Then you walked towards him, your hand outstretched and acting on its own. You grabbed the back of his neck and pressed your lips against his.

Dean froze at the contact, wide-eyed. Soon you felt two arms wrapped around your waist and pulling your body against him as he kissed back. His lips felt exactly as you’ve imagined, even better to be honest. His hot, warm mouth felt like heaven, with a tiny taste of lemon. A soft whimper came out from Dean’s throat as your fingers grabbed at his hair, ruining his perfectly styled hair as he deepened the kiss.

“I don’t like regrets.” He panted against your lips as you broke the kiss, both of you breathless. You gasped when you felt his hands on your ass, pushing your body against his a bit more and feeling his growing erection. Your pencil skirt rising up slightly as you lifted one of your legs to wrap around him, Dean choosing to give your throat some attention.

Two strong knocks on the door startled you, and you jumped from each other right away, trying to calm down and rearranging your clothes as someone entered the office.

“Mr. Adler.” You said, out of breath, your fingers pulling on your skirt discreetly. 

“Ah, Miss Colt! I wasn’t expecting you here.” The man smiled, but you didn't know why it felt fake.

You cleared your throat. “I’ll… leave you two alone.”

“No, no, no.” Mr. Adler said before you have the time to move. “In fact, I needed to talk to the both of you.” He explained as he sat on the couch in the corner.

Dean and you shared a questioning look but your boss kept on talking. He explained how he was satisfied with your work and how big the company could be with the both of you. Soon, he handed you a paper and did the same with Dean. The air left your lungs when you saw the numbers written on it.

“This is not a PA’s salary, sir.” You said, your eyes still running over the numbers.

“Because it isn’t.” He smirked.

You were lost for words. It was just your luck! You had a very interesting job offer right when you’d decided to quit.

“Thank you, sir. It’s very generous, but hum...I’m giving you my notice.” Your head snapped in Dean’s direction when you heard him.

“This is a joke. You’re kidding me, right?” Mr Adler laughed, looking from Dean to you.

You shook your head no. “Actually, I was noticing Mr Smith that I was leaving.” You said, a small blush covering your cheeks as you remembered what you were really doing before Mr Adler’s appearance. 

Mr. Adler tried to make you change your mind and Dean told him you have another work to do, something more important. You smiled softly at each other and felt his hand wrapped around yours. Mr Adler didn’t miss the sweet gesture.

“Dean, Dean, Dean…” He smiled, standing up and stopping in front of you. “Finally.” He sighed before lifting his hands and pressed two fingers against your forehead, doing the same with Dean.

You blinked and you felt nauseous for a few seconds as you tried to remember where you were.

“What the hell?” You whispered, warmth against your palm disturbing you. You watched your hand and your eyes trailed up towards the one who held your hand. When you saw a pair of green eyes and the end of the trail, your body went rigid, just like him. You let go of each other as if the contact suddenly burned your skin.

“Welcome back.” The man in front of you said, watching you like a hawk.


	8. The truth

You couldn’t wait to get out of the car. As soon as Dean stopped in front of the motel, you jumped out, walking quickly towards your room and ignoring Sam’s calls. You opened the door and froze when you saw two pairs of eyes staring at you from the bed. It took you a few seconds to remember the twins but you ignored them as well as you slammed the door and headed for your duffel bag.

“What happened? Where were you? We’ve been looking for you for days!” Abby and James asked you at the same time, mixing their voices.

“Long story.” You grunted as you searched inside your bag. Your hands curled around the metal flask and without wasting another second you uncapped it and took a big gulp, the strong liquor burning your throat in the best way. Oh God, how you needed it!

“No but really. We were worried!” Abby exclaimed behind you. “The three of you disappeared without a trace!”

Again, you ignored her, your thoughts too focused on what  Zacharia said earlier. Those angels were real dicks! You had no business with them but they pushed you in anyway. How could they say that you’ve been lying to yourself for so long? According to him, this little game was a way for you and Dean to realize what you really wanted. The hunting life was in your blood, you were meant for it. If that was the case, then why did you try so hard to get out? You knew what you wanted better than them. And what about that...thing between you and Dean? You hated each other. True, you were friends a long time ago, best friends even but that time was far behind you. He had ruined everything that night he betrayed you.

You glanced at the door and you raised a finger, stopping the man who entered, right away. “Not now, Sam.” You warned.

“Y/N, just...calm down.” He said softly, both hands outstretched in front of him.

“Calm down? Calm down, Sam? Really?” You shouted, throwing the flask against the wall, your outburst making Sam and the twins cringe.

“Those dicks play with my mind, then are talking about some destiny crap and make me doubt about my whole life and I should calm down?”

Sam opened his mouth but couldn’t find the right words to ease your mind, he was as lost as you were. You gripped your head with both hands, your fingers tightening around your hair and you let out a strangled groan.

“I need something stronger.” You sighed after a moment, not looking at any of them. Without adding something else, you grabbed your purse and left your room, looking for the nearest bar.

Sam sighed helplessly when you left, his eyes looking at the opened door. He knew your anger wasn’t just about the Angels, something had happened between you and Dean. The tension in the car while you drove back to the motel was a good clue. Nor Dean or you looked at each other.

“Sam? What’s going on?” James asked behind him. Sam turned around and watched the kids sitting on the bed in front of him. It wasn’t difficult to see they were worried and lost. Sam sighed deeply as he ran a hand over his face.

“It’s a bit complicated.”

That was true, even Sam couldn’t understand what was going on. Everything was happening so fast. First, meeting you again after so many years. He never knew why you stopped being friends, Dean never told him what happened, never talked about it. One day you were best friends, and the next day it was like you’ve never existed. Then, there was the kids’ case. What seemed like a regular case at first, became very strange and Sam couldn’t help the feeling that it was more complicated than he thought. And now, the Angels were coming in the game, speaking about destiny and other shit. The more he thought about it, the more Sam knew he needed to clear a few things, and as he watched the twins, he decided to start right away.

Sam closed his eyes and took another deep breath, closing the door silently behind him, his body standing in front of it, blocking the only exit. He crossed his arms upon his chest and frowned.

“Why are you really here?” He asked, looking from Abby to James.

The twins’ backs straightened at his question, glancing at each other. The room fell silent, and Sam watched them intently, as if they were talking to each other without a word. Sam knew this feeling, he was very used to it. Another hint of what he suspected.

“We’re hunting this demon.” Abbigail started to explain but Sam cut her short.

“Stop the bullshit right now. I just want the truth.” Both kids remained silent. “I can’t help you if you don’t tell me.” Sam added, his voice softer, the same tone of voice he used when he needed the help from civilians.

James glanced at Abbigail once more and sighed as his shoulders dropped. “We’re…”

“James, don’t!” Abbigail interrupted him, her voice stronger. Sam could recognize the tone his own brother would use sometimes. The one that said ‘I’m the older one, I know better.’

“Abby, this is Sam, maybe he could…” James tried but Abbigail wouldn’t have any of it.

“Nothing good could come out from this and you know it. Mom and Dad wouldn’t…” She said but this time it was James’ turn to interrupt her.

“Well Mom and Dad are not here!” He said angrily, standing up, his hands curled into fists against his hips.

Abby’s face softened when she saw the despair on her brother’s face. She tried to grab one of his hands but he swatted her hand away.

“For the first time we’re on our own and we don’t even know what to do!” James said, his body shaking slightly. “We’re not hunters, Abby.” He added in a whisper, and Sam could see how scared they were.

Abbigail closed her eyes and sighed as well, listening and accepting what her brother was telling her. She knew he was right, but they needed to be strong to save their parents.

“We’re on our own, Abby. We need help. Let’s just Sam help us...like always.” James said as he sat next to her sister, his hand grabbing hers.

“James…” Abbigail shook her head, it was too dangerous. She was scared of what could happen if they told the truth.

“You’re Dean and Y/N’s kids, right?” Sam asked out of the blue, the weird idea that he had for a long time now running all around his head.

The twins were shocked at first but quickly Abbigail scoffed, watching him like he was nuts. “You’re crazy!”

Sam shrugged, knowing perfectly what she was trying to do. “Not that crazy.” He smirked when the smile fell from her face. “Dean’s been in the past and saw our parents way before we were born. I know time travel is possible so I just did the math.”

The room fell silent, Sam pressed his back against the wall near the door and crossed his arms over his chest, waiting patiently. He knew they were cornered, he just needed to wait for them to crack.

“Uncle Sammy’s always so smart.” James chuckled, shaking his head when Abbigail looked at him, shocked. “How did you know?” he asked Sam.

It took Sam a few seconds to reply, he was still stunned by the words ‘uncle Sammy’. Knowing something and hearing it were two big different things. He took his time to look at them, truly looking at them. Abbigail was just like Dean, almost a female version of her father as much as James was the male exact replica of his mother. Their personalities were a perfect mix between you and Dean’s. He really didn’t know how none of them haven’t seen anything before, it was just in front of them.

“Sam?” Abbigail called him twice before he broke from his own thoughts. 

“Yeah, sorry. It’s just,” Sam cleared his throat, uncrossing his arms and straightening his body, a hand rubbing the back of his neck nervously as he chuckled. “This is big you know? I can’t wait to see Dean’s face when he-”

Both kids stood up at the mention of Dean’s name. “No, no, no. Uncle Sammy you can’t tell him!” They said urgently, eyes wide from panic.

Sam was going to argue, there was no way he could keep a secret so big to his brother.

“Please Uncle Sammy, you can’t tell them. Who knows the damages we’ve done already with you knowing the truth.” Abby said and James nodded.

“But…” Sam tried again but was cut short again by the pleas from both kids, and they gave him their best puppy look.

Yeah, he was certainly the one who taught them that move. And it worked pretty well.

“Alright,” Sam sighed and he didn’t have the time to react when the two kids threw themselves at his waist, hugging him strongly and thanking him. The gesture was strange at first but quickly, Sam’s arms wrapped around the kids and he hugged them back, a warm feeling surrounding his heart.

Their lives were a mess, first Dean going to Hell and coming back, then the Angels and some freaking Apocalypse, at least something good happened. Sam didn’t know how or when, but if Dean and Y/N had children in the future, it meant that something went right in their lives, right?

“So, let’s start from the beginning.” Sam said as they broke their embrace. “Why are you here?”

Abbigail was the first to speak. “We told you the truth, we’re here because we’re hunting this demon.”

James nodded and kept on explaining. “We can’t tell you everything but in our time, this demon is a nasty bitch and wants to get rid of our family. He barged into our home one night and tried to kill Mom. When he ran away we followed him.”

“We didn’t know we were going to end up here but when you found us that night and I saw Baby, I couldn’t believe it.” Abby finished.

Sam listened to them carefully. He wanted to know more, why this demon was after them? What was its name? Where were their parents? Knowing them they would never let their children hunt this demon on their own. Right?

“Your parents…” Sam started, the sudden idea giving him a bad feeling. “Where are they? They’re safe, right?”

The twins lowered their heads at his question but Sam noticed the fear in their eyes.

“We don’t know.” James’s broken voice came in a whisper.

“D-Dad he…” Abbigail started to explain and tried to keep her voice steady “He went hunting with you but we don’t know if you…” 

“Yeah,okay.” Sam nodded, his voice going off as well as his throat tightened. “This demon, do you know its name?”

“Purson.”

At least they had a name to start with. Sam nodded and rested a hand on each twins’ shoulder. “We’ll hunt him and we’ll kill him. I promise.” He said sternly, looking into their eyes and hoping that he was giving them hope.

The twins gave him a small smile and nodded before hugging him again. “Thank you, Uncle Sammy.” God he loved the sound of it.

The door opened suddenly and Dean stopped in his tracks when he was the three of them hugging.

“I’m interrupting something?” Dean asked, arching an eyebrow.

Sam cleared his throat as they parted and none of them dared to look at Dean right away. Dean knew something was going on, he could feel it and he made a mental note to ask Sam about it when they would be alone. 

“Right.” He said, looking at them one last time before his eyes looked around the room. “Anyway, let’s pack. Time to hit the road. Where is she?” He asked when he couldn’t spot you.

“She said she needed a drink.” James told him as he started to pack his stuff. 

Dean groaned and cursed under his breath. Of course she wouldn’t be here. Always a pain in the ass, and making things more difficult than what they were already.

“Sammy, come with me.” Dean ordered as he turned around and headed for the door.

“Why? Where?” Asked Sam, knowing perfectly what his brother had in mind but he wouldn’t let him have his way.

“There’s only one bar in this town. You’ll go and will tell her to come back and get ready.” He explained to Sam, looking at him as if he was stupid.

“Do it yourself.” 

“No. You do it.”

“I don’t even know why we’re leaving so how can I convince her to come with me?” Sam told him, between the both of them Dean was your best bestfriend, he knew you better, even though you couldn’t stand to be in the same room anymore. It was time for you two to get things settled.

“Come on, man. We hate each other, there’s no way she’ll listen to me! We’re under those Angels dicks’ radar, we don’t have the time to-” Dean argued.

“You’re right.” Sam cut him short. “There’s no time to lose and someone needs to keep an eye on the kids if the Angels are coming back. So you go and I stay with the kids.” He smirked when he added “Or do you prefer to stay alone with them?”

As if the twins knew what Sam was implying, James grabbed a shirt from Abby’s hands, shouting that it was his shirt. Abby pulled it back, arguing with him.

“Give my shirt back!” He yelled.

“Stop it! It’s mine!” Abby yelled back as she threw the shirt in her bag.

“Why are you always taking my clothes?” James screamed again, shoving her away.

“Don’t push me, you son of a-” She said angrily, pushing him back. Quickly, they started a fight, pushing each other and even after they had fallen on the floor they kept going.

Dean’s eyes widened at the scene, if the kids were like Sam and Dean were when they were around their age, he knew nothing good was coming.

“Yeah. No, thanks. You stay with them.” He said quickly as he flew away.

Once Dean was nowhere in sight, the fight stopped right away and cursed words were replaced with giggles. Sam looked at the kids, a grin as big as the ones on the kids’ faces. However, the grins fell once they stood up.

“What’s wrong?” Sam asked as he came closer once he had closed the door.

The twins sat on their bed while Sam sat on the other one.

“Something’s not right.” Abby whispered and she glanced at James who nodded once, taking her hand in his. “Mom and Dad, they never fight. Well, they argue sometimes of course, but they never stay angry very long. This,” She said as she waved at the closed door with her free hand “this is different.”

Sam ran a hand in his hair and pushed back a few locks that fell in front of his eyes. “Maybe in the future they’ll…” Started to explain but James cut him short.

“No, they never fight. Like  _ never _ !” He stressed the last word, hopeful that Sam would understand.

“They were highschool sweethearts.” Abbigail kept on talking. “Dad told us many times.”

This time Sam had trouble to understand. They never stayed in the same highschool long enough to even have something like that. 

“Kids, I don’t know. Maybe he pimped up the story a little to make it more romantic or something.” Sam tried to find a reason.

“They never lied to us.” James’s voice turned angry at Sam’s accusation. It wasn’t the first time that Sam noticed how the twins were defending their parents. “They always told us the truth no matter what.”

Abby nodded and her grip on her brother’s hand tightened, as if she tried to calm him down.

“He loved telling us about the day he realized he had fallen for mom. It was during a prom night. Dad promised Mom he would go with her.” A soft smile appeared on her face as she remembered the story. “He always laughed about how chessy it sounded and said it was worse than in a rom-com movie.”

Sam leaned forwards, his forearms resting on his knees. “They never went to the prom. I’m sorry, I don’t know what else to tell you. ” Sam said sadly, he knew this was going to hurt.

Both kids’ heads snapped in Sam’s direction, not believing what he said.

***

The bar you stopped at was the typical type of bar you could find on the road. Dim light, a smell of sweats and booze floating in the air, the room full of patrons, from groups of young adults to the old lone biker. The perfect place to blend in. You were sitting on a barstool, one forearm on the surface in front of you, your head resting on top of it while your free other hand played with your glass. You’ve lost count of how many you’ve had already, you stopped counting after the fifth double whiskey. You’ve asked the bartender to keep them going no matter what, he had given you the stern look but complied with your request without a problem when you slapped a fifty in front of him.

So here you were, drunk as fuck, in the middle of nowhere, your fuzzy mind wondering what you’ve done to live such a life. You were a good girl, never hurting the people around you, even protecting the innocent ones. Granted you had killed but they were monsters, so it was a good thing, right? And yet, you just discovered that Angels existed and they were punishing you by playing tricks. They played with your mind, making you believe that you loved the hunting life, that it was what you were meant for. And cherry on the top? You had some crappy destiny about it.

You scoffed humorlessly at that thought and finished your drink, the clanky sound resonating around you the only hint for the bartender to know he needed to refill it. This was bullshit. You couldn’t be part of it, surely it was the Winchesters’ fault, they were the ones the Angels were after, not you. You were only in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Then there was all this thing about you and Dean. Why did they have to play with your feelings as well? You weren’t attracted by him and yet, your mind kept on replaying the kiss you shared, over and over again. You couldn’t suppress the chills running down your spine as you thought about it. How his lips felt against yours, soft and warm. How his hands had grabbed your hips, you still could feel exactly where they were, the spots he had touched still tingling. Or how his voice made you feel more alive as he called your name. 

“Y/L/N.” Said a grumpy voice.

You buried your head in your arms and groaned. You didn’t need to look up to know he had found you, and despite the fact that you wondered why he was the one who came, you couldn’t help but feel happy about it. You groaned some more, wordlessly ordering yourself to stop thinking like that.

A sigh. “Come on, Y/L/N. We have to go.” Dean said, standing behind you.

“Fuck off Winchester.” You replied without bothering to look at him, as you waved the bartender for another drink.

The man came closer, bottle in his hand as his eyes looked between you and Dean. You gave him a glare but when he stepped back, you knew Dean’s glare must have been more intimidating than yours. You remained silent for a few seconds even though it felt like centuries. You weren’t moving, no matter what. You wanted to drink until you couldn’t think and feel anything anymore. If Dean wanted to get you out of here, then good luck to him!

Dean sighed some more, the type of loud sight that said ‘you’re really a pain in the ass’, and sat on the free stool on your right. 

“Leave me alone.” You said, voice muffled, your head still hiding into your arms.

“We need to go, now.” He kept on repeating, like a broken record.

“Then go and leave me alone.” Your head snapped and you gave him a murderous glare.

His face darkened, hands curling into fists. “No, you’re coming with us. It’s not safe here.” He hissed angrily.

“Why? I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I don’t need you.” Dean’s face fell for a millisecond, but hardened right away and he stood up.

“I don’t have time for this shit. You’re coming.” He said as he grabbed one of your arms and pulled on it, forcing you to stand up.

You shoved him away. “Don’t touch me! Go to hell!”

“Been there already.” He grumbled as he came closer again and grabbed you around your waist, throwing you over his shoulder as if you weighed nothing.

You froze a second, remembering that he indeed had been to Hell, and you felt bad for saying this. When you felt him moving, you started to struggle into his firm grip, punching him in the lower back and waving your legs. “Put me down! Put me down right now Winchester or I swear…”

Dean’s free arm circled your legs, preventing any movement and he walked towards the exit, the patrons in the bar watching the scene in front of their eyes, unmoving. You gotta love Humanity, you were being kidnapped and no one was making a move to help you.

The cold air from outside gave you chills but it didn’t stop you from trying to free yourself. Once you felt him stop walking you thought you'd finally won but the next second you felt your body thrown into the car, the door slamming back forcefully in front of your face. You huffed and pushed the hair that fell all over your face while Dean walked around the car with quick steps and climbed in the driver seat.

Your hand flew towards the door behind you, already opening it when Dean’s voice raised inside the car.

“Stop the fuck now!” You froze. Dean never screamed at you. You were used to fighting each other since you were stuck together with this case, but you’ve never heard this kind of tone. You didn’t dare to move, too shocked, you couldn’t explain why but you felt a dull pain in your chest. Your eyes staring at your lap, you missed the pained look Dean gave you.

A heavy silence surrounded the both of you, until Dean’s voice broke it.

“I’m sorry.” You blinked at his words but didn’t look at him.

“I don’t know why or how but you’re in this mess because of me, and I’m sorry.” Your gaze was still fixated on your lap, you chanced a glance and saw that he wasn’t looking at you either, he kept on talking as he watched through the windshield.

“I’m tired of fighting. You don’t want to be near me, and believe me I don’t want it either, but we need to clear this thing so for the time being, could we just be civil to each other?” He said in a tired, defeated voice. You only nodded even though he couldn’t see you.

“Please?” He asked in a soft tone, his gaze still focused on the road in front of him.

“Okay.” You whispered, your voice stuck in your throat.

Dean seemed to have heard it because he nodded once and started the engine. The two of you remained silent for a long moment, an uneasy feeling between the two of you. It didn’t feel like before this whole mess with the Angels. Before that you simply ignored each other, it was easy to simply feel the hate coursing in your veins, but now it felt...you couldn’t describe this feeling. It was like you were hurting because of him so you needed to hurt him as well and so you did but then it would hurt more. It felt like a loophole you couldn’t get out from.

“I’m sorry.” You choked quietly, squeezing your eyes shut to prevent the angry tears from falling.

Why did such a simple word make you feel better?

“About the Hell thing, I didn’t mean to…” You trailed off but Dean’s stern voice didn’t let you finish.

“I don’t need your pity, Y/L/N.”

And here came the painful, angry ache again as you fell silent for the rest of the drive.


	9. The hunt begins

One week later, the five of you had fallen in a perfect routine. You shared a room with the twins, while Sam and Dean shared the one next to yours. As promised, you and Dean were civils to each other, you didn’t talk a lot but at least Sam and the kids weren’t the messengers between the both of you anymore.

You entered your room after a short stop at the store, bringing some food. You walked silently as you noticed James sleeping in one of the beds, Abby sitting next to him, her back resting against the headboard, a book laying on her lap.

“Wanna eat something?” You whispered, not wanting to disturb the sleeping boy. God you knew he needed some rest, you all did.

Abbigail nodded and you handed her a chocolate donut before taking one for yourself and sat on the other bed.

“You’re really close, right?” You asked after you’ve watched them for a moment.

Abbigail closed her book and swallowed what she had in her mouth. Her head turned in her brother’s direction for a second before she focused her eyes on you.

“He’s my little brother. I have to take care of him.” She shrugged, matter of factly.

“You’re twins.” You chuckled, rubbing your hands together to get rid of the sugar on it.

“I was born first.” She grinned but it disappeared quickly.

“I’m sure they’re fine.” You tried to reassure her, you saw the distress on her face, she was thinking about her parents for sure.

Abbigail nodded. “Yeah, I know they are.” She mumbled before looking at you again. “For now.”

You didn’t know why but you felt a strange feeling coursing through your body. You cleared your throat and picked the lore book you were reading earlier.

“You seem pretty close to your parents. How are they?” You asked, hoping she would smile more as she spoke of them.

“They’re the best.” She said, you knew she meant it. Those kids really loved their parents. You couldn’t understand why, though.

You loved your parents as well, because well...they were your parents, you didn’t have a choice, but you were also angry at them for pushing you in this kind of life. However, James and Abby, they didn’t seem to mind it. What kind of parents, in their right mind, would push their kids into danger?

“Stop it.” You heard Abby’s soft voice. Your head snapped in her direction and you saw a sad smile on her face.

“I know what you’re thinking and believe me when I say it’s not like that.” She said as she stood up carefully and pulled the covers on James’ body.

“They didn’t have a choice.” She added as she sat next to you, her hands clasped together on her lap.

“Our family is… it’s complicated. We’re not really hunting monsters anymore, but the monsters are still after us. I think that’s what you get for having parents as goddamn hunters.” She chuckled.

You grabbed her hands and squeezed gently, giving her an encouraging smile.

“I know they didn’t want this kind of life for us. They wanted us to be innocents and unaware of the ugly truth as long as possible, but they also realized quickly that James and I were the perfect targets. They didn’t have a choice and told us the truth when we were old enough to understand it.”

“That must have been scary.” You told her, remembering the day your parents had the same speech with you. You remembered that day perfectly, when they told you to be scared of what could hide in the dark. As a kid, you had nightmares about monsters being real and what they could do to you.

“Not really.” Abby’s answer surprised you.

“Do you fear lions or sharks? ” She asked you, you didn’t understand the sudden change of topic.

“Not really. I wouldn’t be brave if I was standing in front of one but I don’t fear them.”

Abby nodded knowingly. “I feel the same about monsters. Mom and Dad told us we need to be wary of them but not being scared. We’re not hunting them but we know what to do if we’re facing one of them. See what I mean?”

You nodded, pondering on the thought. You had to admit it was a clever move. At least those kids weren’t raised in constant fear. Though, it was a bit too easy to compare a wild animal with a monster. The dangers weren’t the same, animals weren’t purely evil contrary to monsters. You broke from your thoughts when you felt her hands trembling. You called her name softly and heard a strangle sob.

“I don’t know what to do.” She admitted between more sobs.

“Hey, hey, hey. Come here.” You said in a soothing voice as you let go of her hands and wrapped your arms around her fragile frame.

“I miss them so much. It’s not the same here.” She cried, her face pressed against your chest, one of her hands fisting your shirt.

“I know sweety.” You hugged her strongly. You didn’t know why but you had this sudden huge need to reassure her. You rested your chin on the top of her head while your hand stroked her back gently and started to rock the both of you back and forth.

“I’m not strong enough. I need them.” She cried more, and you’ve never felt so helpless in your life. You wanted to reassure her. You needed to make sure the both of them were safe.

“We’ll find them.” You promised as you kissed the top of her head.

***  
You entered the boys’ room a few moments later, once Abbigail fell asleep, the poor girl was exhausted after crying. You were more determined than ever after such a heart breaking scene.

“Where’s your brother?” You asked Dean when you noticed he was alone in his room.

Dean didn’t even spare a glance at you and simply pointed at the bathroom door as he kept his eyes on the book in front of him. Soon the bathroom door opened and Sam came out, smiling softly as a way to acknowledge your presence.

“We need to find this demon.” You told the boys as Sam sat in front of his laptop on the table.

“Wow thanks for the advice. Why didn’t I think of it before?” Dean snickered humorlessly.

You glared at him and put your fists on your hips, he was so getting on your nerves.

“Don’t start you two.” Sam said before you had the time to speak.

You rolled your eyes and huffed, your arms falling against your sides as you walked towards Sam, showing Dean your back. You read on the screen the information Sam was working on, something about some demon, kings and guardians of Hell apparently, your eyes falling on a familiar name quickly before Sam scrolled the text down.

“Wait!” You grabbed Sam’s arm and stopped him.

“Purson?” You read out loud.

“According to the kids, he’s the demon we’re looking for but I can’t find anything about him.” Sam explained, an edge in his voice as he felt useless, he’s been searching for this demon for a week but couldn’t find a lot about him.

“We’re not even sure he really exists.” Dean said from his bed.

“Oh he exists alright.” You murmured between clenched teeth.

“Y/N?” Sam called your name as you straighten your back.

“That’s the name of the demon who took me.” You told him out of the blue, you were already thinking deeply about the fact that your case and the kids’ were the same. “Shit! He was talking about Abby and James!” You thought out loud, when you remembered he had asked you about kids.

“Wait. What?” Dean stood up from his bed in one jump, one of his hands grabbing your wrist and forcing you to turn around. “And you kept this information from us because...?”

You shrugged him off, your brain working at full speed, trying to put two and two together.

“I forgot about him. Didn’t think both cases were linked.” You explained absentmindedly, waving your hand around as a matter of fact.

“Well, good job with that.” Dean mocked angrily.

You rolled your eyes back again, having enough of his temper. “You’re one to talk. You forgot to mention it to me too.”

“Calm down both of you.” Sam came between you two, preventing any fight.

“Why me? I didn’t know about the kids before this incident. Why did he think I would know anything about them? And why does Alex help him?” You thought out loud, too many questions whirling in your head.

“Alex? You’re still with him?” Dean scoffed when he heard the name.

“I’ve never been with him.” You replied back, looking at Dean as if he was crazy.

“Wait, who’s Alex?” Sam asked, totally lost in the argument.

“Y/N’s boyfriend in highschool.” Dean answered Sam, a strange taste in the back of his throat.

“For the love of God!” You sighed loudly. “He was not my boyfriend! I barely knew him!”

Dean muttered something you couldn’t get. “What?” You asked him to say it again.

“Nothing.” Dean shrugged his shoulders, he tried his hardest to remain civil.

Sam was deeply thinking about everything. He had more information than you two, he had kept them from you because the twins had asked him to. Suddenly it hit him.

“Is there any chance that what you’re talking about was when we were at Truman’s High?” He asked and you and Dean froze at the name.

“Were you going to attend some kind of a party? A prom maybe?” He asked once more, and judging by the way you and Dean acted, Sam knew he was onto something.

“This is not your business!” Dean and you told Sam angrily, you glanced at each other and looked quickly at opposite sides. Sam pondered for a long minute before heading to the door.

“Where the hell are you going?” Dean asked his brother.

“I need to check something. I’ll be right back.” Sam said, opening the door. He stopped in his tracks, turned around and pointed a finger at both of you. “Behave.” He warned you before leaving.

Dean and you looked at each other, then you tensed and chose opposite sides, staying away from each other as far as possible. The mention of that particular night, opening deep, painful wounds for the both of you.

***  
Sam entered the room you shared with the twins. He shook Abby’s body gently, not wanting to scare her. Once her eyes started to flutter open, he did the same with James. The young boy rubbed the back of his hand over his sleepy eyes and yawned loudly.

“Uncle Sammy? What’s wrong?” James asked once he made sure it was only the three of them inside the room.

Sam grabbed a chair from the corner of the room and put it in front of the beds.

“I don’t have the time to explain why but I need you to tell me exactly what happened during that prom night.” Sam told them, sitting on the chair.

Both kids sat on the edge of their bed, blinking the sleepiness from their eyes.

“What? Why?” Abbigail asked.

Sam shook his head hurriedly. “Just answer the question, please.”

The urgency in his voice was enough for them to oblige.

“There’s nothing special, really.” James shrugged, then looked at his sister who shrugged as well.

“Grandpa left you and Dad while he went to hunt,” James started to tell as their father did when they were young. Sam shifted in his seat, hearing his own dad being called grandpa was rather disturbing.

“Mom was there too, our grand-parents leaving her for the rest of the year so she could finish it normally. Then you were leaving and Dad couldn’t bear seeing Mom sad so he promised her he would go with her at the prom.”

Sam listened carefully, nodding from time to time when he remembered a few things from that time. He vaguely remembered how happy Dean was when John accepted to lend him the Impala for that night.

“Then they went and danced the whole night. Dad said that when he left her in her room that night he realized he was in love with Mom. Then he left because Grandpa needed him for a job.” Abby finished the story.

“Did something happen that night? Did they kiss or said something about their feelings maybe?” Sam asked them as he tried to spot the differences between the story told and his own past.

The twins shook their heads no at the same time.

“Nothing changed after that night. They ended together many years later, after Dad came back from…” James trailed off.

“From Hell.” Sam finished for him. The fact that Dean came back from Hell a few months ago was certainly not a coincidence. “I think I know what Purson’s trying to do.” Sam said as he stood up on his feet. “We need to tell them the truth about you.”

“We can’t! That’s too dangerous!” The twins jumped from their bed at the same time and Sam finally understood how people felt when Dean and he spoke as one. This was kind of disturbing.

“Uncle Sammy, what if we say something you should not know and change our past?” James asked, worried.

“I think it’s already too late to fear the consequences.” Sam whispered.

The sound of glass breaking resonated from the other room and the three of them exited their room to see Dean slamming the door as he walked towards his car with angry steps. The door opened again and you got out, your fists clenched tightly.

“Running away again instead of facing me, huh? You’re such a coward, Winchester!” You yelled at him.

Dean stopped in his tracks and turned around. “What did you say?” A dark glint in his eyes and his voice menacing.

“You heard me perfectly.” You lifted your head so you could look at him right in the eyes. You weren’t backing away.

“Oh sweetheart,” He chuckled darkly, the nickname not friendly by no means. He came closer to you, stopping only a few inches away from you and stared you down. “I’m a lot of things but I certainly am not a coward.” He said, his voice low and full of hate, thanks to the proximity you could see how hard his jaws were clenched.

“Don’t sweetheart me, you lost that right a long time ago.” You said with the same tone he just used seconds ago.

“Dean. Y/N.” Sam tried to interfere.

“Stay out of it!” You both shouted at Sam, still staring at each other. It was a battle, the first one who would look away was the loser.

“You’re right you’re far worse than a coward. You’re a liar, always sweetalking people to ruin their lives the next second.”

“Oh? Because now, I’ve ruined your life? You know what…” Dean said but stopped when he noticed movements from the corner of his eye.

His eyes fell on the kids, and more particularly on their teary eyes. The twins’ entwined hands shaking subtly, their other free hand fisting into Sam’s shirt, the fear written all over their faces. Seeing this, Dean calmed down slightly. He perfectly knew how the kids felt, he was just like them when he was around their age and witnessed a fight between his Dad and Sam. Then Dean looked at you again, the rage still burning into your eyes.

“I have enough of this shit.” He spat, then took a step back and headed for his car once again.

“Dean, come on!” Sam called, defeated.

“Good riddance.” You muttered as you turned around and walked toward your room.

“Dean!” The twins called him as well, Abby taking a step in his direction.

Dean ignored them, circling in front of his car, the keys jiggling as he took them out from his pocket.

“Dean!” James tried again, coming closer to his sister and holding her hand. He hated seeing her helpless.

The car door squeaked as he opened it, still ignoring their pleas. He needed to get out of here, to clear his mind and maybe cool down.

“Dad, please!” Abbigail begged, her voice breaking.

Time had stopped at the moment, everyone frozen in their place. You were standing on the doorstep, your eyes wide opened, not believing what you heard. You turned around so slowly, afraid you would trip, so you could see what was going on with the others.

Sam and James had their backs straightened, unmoving, you wondered if they stopped breathing. In front of them was Abbigail who had fallen on her knees at some point, looking at Dean desperately, as if she was afraid that he would disappear if she blinked. You knew she was crying as you heard the sniffling sounds coming from her.

And then, there was Dean. He was perfectly still. One leg inside the car, one hand pressed on the rooftop, his lips parted slightly as he couldn’t stare away from Abbigail. This couldn’t be true. The poor girl might have a slip of the tongue.

“Dad please, I need you.” Despite how broken her voice was as she choked on the words, Dean and you heard her perfectly, ringing just like a bell. Confirming what you’ve already heard a few seconds before.

You knew that Dean was a womanizer but never would you have thought he had kids, and as old as they were, nonetheless. You didn’t register James walking towards you, your mind too focused on Abby’s revelation to notice any movement.

However, you felt all the air leaving your lungs when you heard his shaky voice next to you.

“I need you too, Mom.”


	10. Lies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Mentions of vomiting, cursed words

Everything around you felt heavy and weird, like in an eerie dream you knew you were having but couldn’t wake up from. You didn’t know how long it has been nor how you ended up here, but there you were, sitting in the brothers’ motel room, surrounded by people that felt like strangers. The five of you were silent, except for the few sniffling sounds Abbigail made as she calmed down slowly. You took the glass of cold water Sam handed you and drank it at a slow pace. To be honest you didn’t know what you were doing, you went on autopilot mode since James had dropped the news like a bomb: they came from the future and you and Dean were (or will be?) their parents.

“H-how?” You asked in a strangled voice, your throat feeling dry despite the water you’d just drank. 

Sam looked at you pitifully. You would think he would be more whiplashed than that after a news like this. He should feel the same way like you or his brother were feeling right now, unless…

Your head snapped in Sam’s direction, the both of you having a silent conversation. Slowly his pitiful face turned into an apologetic one. 

He knew. That bastard knew and didn’t say anything!

You looked away, refusing his silent apology and your eyes fell on his big brother. Dean was sitting on the floor, in a corner of the room, his knees bent, elbows resting on them while his hands supported his head. Judging by the way he was staring at the floor, Dean was as shocked as you were.

“How long?” You asked Sam, avoiding his eyes.

Sam rubbed the back of his neck and took his time to answer you, he was choosing his words carefully.

“I suspected something very quickly.” He started to explain. “I just had the confirmation a few days ago.”

“And you kept it from us? From _me_?” Dean finally spoke for the first time, an angry glare directed at his brother.

Sam shifted from one foot to the other, feeling bad for betraying his own brother. 

“I thought... I thought you suspected something too.” Sam tried to justify himself. “I mean, look at them! It’s kind of obvious when you think about it.” He waved a hand towards the twins but you refused to look at them.

“‘Obvious’?” You chuckled humorlessly. “Yeah, Sam! Meeting your kids from the future is something so obvious! Why didn’t I think about that before?” You didn’t care if you hurted him at this point. 

“Look, I’m sorry, ok?” Sam said but the tone of his voice didn’t sound as sorry as he said. “They didn’t want me to let you know. They were scared it would change the future if you knew the truth.”

You understood their reasons but you weren’t going to let them know that. You had every right to feel angry. It wasn’t the first time a Winchester betrayed you, after all.

“The thing is,” Sam said after a moment. “I think the past has already changed. Your actual past is different from the one they know.”

Since no one spoke, Sam kept on going with his theory.

“Something happened between the both of you in our past and I think Purson is behind all of it. If we don’t do something the kids might disappear.”

Dean and you reacted right away hearing this. The idea of something happening to them felt like a slap in the face.

“What do you mean?” You and Dean asked at the same time, and for the first time you look at each other in the eyes.

“In their...huh...time?” Sam wasn’t sure how to explain this. “The two of you are like two peas in a pod but here you’re at each other's throat, literally.” You and Dean nodded, agreeing with that fact.

“I’ve been researching and there’s not a lot of information about this demon. I just know that he’s the guardian of the past, present and future. So, I think for whatever reasons, he went to the past and changed yours and Dean’s which will affect your future and by extension, the twins’.”

Dean stood up and came closer to Sam, the shock of learning he’s a father subsided a bit, leaving him in hunter mode.

“If you’re right and that demon really changed our past, how come the kids are still here?” He asked his brother.

“We’re not born yet, in this timeline.” James thought out loud, then turned his face to look at his sister.

Abbigail cocked her head on the side and thought deeply.

“We’ve followed him in this kind of portal. Maybe we’re not dead yet because we’re not even born here?” She tried.

“Yes. Yes!” Sam snapped his fingers, understanding where the kids were going. “All of this resulting in some kind of a…”

“Paradoxe.” Sam and the twins concluded at the same time, realization written all over their faces.

“Calm down Dr. Emmett Brown.” Dean said to his brother, and you couldn’t help but smile at the reference.

“No but Dean we’ve got something working with.” Sam ignored him, you could hear the gears working in his brain. “And I think I know exactly when Purson did something to change your past.” Sam added, making a face when he thought about it. This wasn’t going to be easy.

“What happened during that prom night?” He asked you and his brother.

Once again, the both of you had hard faces at the mention of that particular night.

“Nothing!” You and Dean said at the same time, the anger lacing your tones.

Sam gave you a bitch face, the way you acted was clearly a sign that he was right.

“Ask him!”

“Ask her!” 

You said again in one voice. Dean mirroring the surprise on your face but quickly it was replaced with bitterness. How dare he? He was the one responsible in the first place and he was going to drop everything on your back?

You crossed your arms upon your chest and focused on the ugly, dirty wall next to you, refusing to look at anybody.

The room fell silent for a short moment, and Sam’s desperate sigh broke it.

“Y/N.” Sam called your name gently. He knew he wasn’t going to win over his brother so he went for the less difficult person. “Please.”

You shut your eyes and bit your inner cheek. Your resolve to keep it a secret breaking slowly. You hated thinking about that night. It was your most painful memory. That night you learned the hard way that having a normal life wasn’t possible for you. All your dreams and hopes were crushed in one second.

“Nothing happened.” You muttered sadly, you wrapped your arms around you as you fought against the tears. You hated how hopeless you felt every time you thought about that horrible night.

Since no one spoke, you kept on telling your story. “I’ve waited for your brother the whole night. He never came. See? There’s nothing to say.”

“You got balls!” Dean exclaimed, walking back and forth in the middle of the room. “Of course I wouldn’t come after what you did!”

“‘What I did’? I didn’t do anything!” You jumped from your spot, fists trembling from rage against your sides.

Behind you Sam gave the twins a reassuring squeeze, at least you were talking about that night. It was some sort of improvement.

“Oh right! Because you’re a saint! No better, you’re just like those Angels, real dicks!”

“Dean. What did she do?” Sam interfered, he needed to know Dean’s side of the story.

Dean glared at his brother, a vain attempt for him to tell his brother to let it go. He had built a strong wall around those memories. Never did he feel so betrayed since that night. Seeing you with someone else was one thing, the words you threw at him, those really hurt. 

“Dean, do it for James and Abby.” Sam pleaded.

Dean shut his eyes and breathed deeply. His resolve crashing down.

“I…” He cleared his throat, the waves in his voice betraying him. 

“I came the day before. I wanted to surprise you.” Dean said, a sad smile on his lips as he recalled that day.

You turned around, your brows furrowed as you didn’t remember seeing him.

“I was waiting for you in front of the highschool. When I spotted you, you were with that douche.” He spatted the last word, his face showing his disgust.

“Who?” 

“Your boyfriend, Alex.” Dean gave you a face, not falling for the dumb act you were giving him.

“What? No! Why are you making up things?” It was your turn to be angry. It was really a low move from him to lie and turn you into the mean one.

“It’s the truth!” Dean yelled and you were speechless when you saw the pain in his eyes.

“When I came closer you- you were so cold and distant. I didn’t recognize you.” Dean kept on going, truly decided to tell the truth.

“You could have simply told me to leave but no, you had to be mean, you had to hurt me. You were my best friend Y/N, how could you use my deepest secrets to hurt me?” He asked, tears pooling in his eyes.

**_*FLASHBACK*_ **

_As soon as he spotted you in front of the big main doors, Dean climbed out from his beloved Impala, excited to see you and show you that his dad let him borrow Baby for your special night. He wanted to make it special for his best friend._

_His smile fell once he stopped a few meters away and saw Alex’s arm draped over your shoulders. He swore you’ve smirked when you saw him. Dean blinked at that thought and the next second he saw you kissing Alex deeply._

_Dean didn’t let this bother him and came closer, greeting you and ignoring Alex perfectly._

_“Hey Y/N. Long time no see, huh?” Dean tried to be casual but there was something strange about you, he couldn’t put his finger on it._

_“What are you doing here, Dean?” You asked, and Dean could hear the disgust in your voice when you said his name._

_“Hmm, the prom night? It’s tomorrow, remember?” Once again he tried to ignore all the weird vibes he got from you. Maybe you just had a bad day?_

_“Right.” This time he couldn’t be mistaken, you really smirked. “The thing is, I don’t need you anymore. I’ve found better.” You said as you wrapped Alex’s neck with your arms, looking at him lovingly._

_“Alex? Really?” Dean couldn’t help but laugh at that. For sure you were playing him, it was a very bad joke but Dean couldn’t understand your humour sometimes._

_“Hey don’t act like you’re better than him!” You replied angrily. “You Winchesters, always thinking so highly of yourself. You’re just trash! A real pain in my ass.”_

_Dean couldn’t speak. He had never heard you speak like that. The lack of response just fuelled you to keep going._

_“We all know that you’re not the one you pretend to be, Dean. Underneath your whole ‘I could give a crap,’ bad-boy thing that there is something more going on, something ugly and so true. And you spend so much time trying to convince people that you're cool, but it's just an act. We all know that you're just a sad... lonely little kid.” You told him, the dark smile on your lips growing the more Dean’s face fell._

_“And you’ll end up alone, Dean. Mommy left you, I’m leaving you. Your dad doesn’t care if you’re on your own or not…” You trailed off, at some point you had let go of Alex and walked closer to Dean, whispering all his darkest secret fears. You were so close to him, your body touching slightly and you laughed to yourself when you felt his body shaking against yours. Slowly you brought your lips to his ears and whispered what you hope would be the last nail in the coffin._

_“And one day, little Sammy will leave you too.”_

_Dean pushed you from him violently, he looked at you with so much hate, his eyes teary. Inside you were gloating._

_Without saying a word Dean left, running towards his car. The door cringed and slammed powerfully. You watched him driving away, a pleased smile all over your face._

_A job well done._

_***_

Everyone in the room was speechless once Dean finished to tell his side of the story. You couldn’t believe your own ears. You didn’t remember any of it.

“Why are you lying?” You asked in a shaky voice.

Dean brought his face closer to you and planted his gaze in yours.

“Look into my eyes and tell me if I’m lying!” He yelled at you.

You stepped back, shaking your head no. You believed him but you knew you didn’t say those things to him. Even after all those years and the bitterness you felt towards him, you wouldn’t say it. You knew Dean was scared to be left alone, his family was everything to him.

“I didn’t...I would never...You have to believe me.” You choked on your words, feeling the air leaving your lungs as you started to panic. You didn’t know what was going on anymore.

Sam pressed his body between you and Dean, a hand on each other’s chest, separating you a bit more and he gave you a reassuring smile.

“I believe you, Y/N.” He said gently.

“Sam!” Dean argued, hurt that his brother preferred to believe you instead of him.

“And I believe you too Dean.” Sam said quickly, his voice strong, not a trace of doubt in his voice.

You and Dean gave him a questioning look, not understanding how he could possibly believe the both of you. Sam’s hands fell from your chests and took a step back.

“Remember what we’re hunting. Purson is a demon. I believe you Dean when you say that Y/N had acted that way and I believe you Y/N, when you say you don’t remember any of it. There’s only one explanation possible…” Sam said calmly, everything had finally clicked together.

“She was possessed.” James and Abbigail gasped when the realization hit them.

Hearing this, your heart stopped. How could it be possible? You didn’t remember anything, you weren’t the best hunter in the world but you would remember being possessed if it happened to you.

“Think about it, Y/N. It makes sense. Purson possessed you, demons can read into your minds, knew everything you knew and used it against Dean to hurt him.” Sam explained, oblivious of your distress state.

“I would remember if it had happened. Possessed people can remain conscious, trapped in their own body. I should remember this!” You tried to find a flaw in Sam’s theory, you had to. There was no way you would accept that you’ve been possessed without knowing. There was no way something like this could make you feel so helpless.

“Not if it didn’t want you to know.” And with that simple sentence, Sam destroyed your last hope. Seeing the defeat crawling over your face he quickly added “I’ve been possessed, I know what I’m talking about.” 

Knowing that even Sam could have been possessed didn’t make you feel better, on the contrary it made it worse. If even a Winchester could be possessed then, there was no hope at all.

Bringing a shaking hand over your mouth, you started to feel sick, a heavy weight down your stomach. You didn’t care anymore that you were crying, the tears falling freely down your cheeks. Without a warning you rushed into the bathroom and didn’t care if the people behind you could hear the disgusting sounds you made as you threw up into the toilets. You barely register the sound of something crashing in the other room and Dean yelling a ‘Son of a bitch’ at no one in particular. 

“Why us? Why do things like these keep happening to us?” Dean asked his little brother, he knew Sam wouldn’t have all the answers but he hoped he would have this one at least, for his own sanity.

Unfortunately, just like Dean feared, Sam didn’t know, a slight shake of his head as a silent answer. Dean sighed and let his body fall heavily on one of the beds, covering his head with his hands while he thought about all those years he had lost, all the pain, fear and rage he had felt, all of this for nothing.

“Dad…” A soft and scared voice came from behind him and Dean tensed at the word, he couldn’t help himself but jerked away at the soft touch falling on his shoulder.

Abbigail stood next to him, hurt written all over her face because of his rejection. He felt bad, so bad, when he saw her face. As he learned the truth behind his past, he had forgotten that Y/N and he weren’t the only ones pushed down into this hellish mess. But Dean couldn’t help them at the moment, he knew the children, _his_ children, needed him more than ever but this was too much, even for him.

As he gave Abbigail an apologetic glance he saw James coming closer, wrapping Abby’s body with his arms, giving her the comfort she needed. 

“It’s alright Abby. Give them time.” James whispered into his sister’s hair as he embraced her strongly. Then James stared into Dean's eyes, a strange but somewhat familiar glint in his Y/E/C’s eyes. Dean knew this feeling, he’s seen it in his brother’s eyes a few times, hell, Dean knew he had this kind of flame burning in his own eyes so many times. He knew this feeling. A silent promise.

_Everything’s alright. We’ll deal with it. I’ll protect you._

Even though your stomach felt empty, you stayed into the bathroom, sitting on the cold, stained tiles, one arm braced over the toilet bowl, your dizzy head pressed against it. Everything was strangely calm around you, no sound could be heard. It took you time to understand that the Winchesters and the twins had left the motel room. You accepted the loneliness gratefully. There were too many things running into your mind to let you care for the others. Your whole life was a lie, every decision you made since that awful night had been dictated because of a demon who played you. You sniffled a few times as your breath slowed down, coming back to a normal rate. The last of your tears falling down your already wet face, tears coming from the efforts and the pain as you thought about the time you lost.

Suddenly a warm, big hand came over you, stroking gently your back in a soothing manner. You felt another hand pushing away your hair on one side.

“You alright?” Asked a deep but soft voice. You squeezed your eyes even more, a sad smile lifting your lips up.

After everything, he was still the one taking care of you. Knowing what you now knew, you couldn’t understand why he was here. Between the both of you, he was the one who hurt the most. Even though it wasn’t really you, the fact that his best friend was the one who voiced his deepest fears was still a real thing. And yet, despite everything, here stood next to you, Dean Winchester. Your best friend.

Your former best friend.

It was so easy, knowing the truth, to forgive him. You still felt the pain of the betrayal of course, but how could you be mad at him for not coming that night? Who would have come after such horrible words? You pushed him away gently, giving you room to stand up. You didn’t dare to look at him as you walked toward the sink, to rinse your mouth and wiped your face with cold water.

The silence between you wasn’t as heavy as you thought it would be. Dean gave you the time you needed to compose yourself.

“Here.” He said as you turned around, finally facing him. He handed you a necklace; a silver pendant in a form of a sun surrounded by a pentagram.

You took it, narrowing your eyes at the strange object.

“To prevent demons possessing you.” Dean explained and you fell down that hole again. You thought about all the mean things you told him that day, tears pooling into your eyes once again.

“I’m sor-”

“Don’t.” Dean ordered you quickly, his voice a bit raw.

“I should be the one apologizing. I was the one who let you down.” He said, staring at the ceiling as he avoided your eyes, fists clenched tightly against his sides.

“Dean, no…” You trailed off, unsure of what you could say to make him feel better. Why did he always feel responsible for everything? You understood why he did it, you would have done the same thing. The betrayal he felt that day should have been ten times worse yours.

“We’ve lost so many years.” You murmured as you curled your fingers around one of his fists. 

The touch surprised him slightly but he let you do it anyway as he lowered his gaze to see that it was your turn to avoid his eyes.

A soft smile stretched his lips as an unknown feeling warmed his body. Without thinking, Dean wrapped one arm around you, pushing your body against his, your face pressed against his warm chest. Your eyes widened at the unsuspected friendly gesture.

“It’s alright.” Dean murmured against your temple.

You closed your eyes and wrapped both of your arms around his waist, accepting the peace even if it was just for a short moment. His silent promise warming your heart and calming your nerves. You pushed back the scary ideas in the back of your mind and just enjoyed the embrace, one you’d missed for so long even without knowing it. However, deep down you knew. You knew it wouldn’t be alright. 

It was already too late.


	11. The family business

_Two weeks later._

The Winchester brothers, the twins and you were sitting in a diner, grabbing breakfast before you drove to your next destination: Lebanon, Kansas. The twins were against it at first, refusing to tell you why but you knew it had something to do with your hypothetical future. It took you time to convince them, all hints you’ve found about Purson led you towards Lebanon.

You brought your cup of coffee to your lips, the wonderful taste and scent awakening you. It was still early but you needed to reach the small town as soon as possible, the demon had run wild and messed up your lifes for too long already. You needed to take care of him before everything else, knowing the Apocalypse was waiting for you right around the corner after this.

“Alright gang! Time to move.” Dean announced as he patted his stomach and stood up, his other hand fishing in his pants’ pockets for his wallet.

“I’ll do it!” Abbigail jumped from her seat, grabbing Dean’s wallet eagerly, the next second she was skipping happily towards the counter.

The three men watched her leaving, dumbfounded while you hid your smirk behind your cup as you took another sip. You pretended to be focused on the newspaper in front of you but had to glance at some point towards the counter.

“What is with her?” Dean grumbled, while you felt your smirk growing as you saw Abby leaning against the counter, a huge smile illuminating her face and mirroring the one from the cute young boy behind the counter.

You quickly focused back on your newspaper as you felt Dean’s eyes on you, hoping that he didn’t get what you suspected.

“Oh hell no!” He exclaimed.

Damn it!

Abbigail was swaying her body slightly as she watched the cute boy giving her the change. She tried to play it cool and ignored the shivers running down her spine as she felt his skin against her palm.

“So?” The boy started to ask, a pink tint covering his cheeks. “You’re living near?” He asked, hopeful.

Abbigail shook her head no. “No but I wouldn’t mind staying a bit.” She smiled leaning over the counter a bit more, bringing her face closer to his. She bit her bottom lip as the boy’s smile grew wider.

The happy bubble burst suddenly when Abbigail noticed him taking a double look over her head. His smile wavered and his happy face decomposed quickly as dreadness replaced the flirty glint in his eyes.

Abbigail rolled her eyes and sighed, her shoulders falling at the same time.

“Let me guess. There’s two big men behind me, isn’t it?”

The cute boy only nodded frantically, and when she saw his adam apple bobbed she knew it was worse than what she suspected. She turned around in a swift motion, coming face to face with her brother. James wasn’t looking at her, his hard face directed at the poor boy behind the counter, sending silent threats to the boy. Then she looked at Sam and Dean, wearing the same faces as her brother. The three men had their arms crossed upon their puffed chests, standing big and menacing, their eyes throwing daggers at the poor boy who pretended to hear someone calling for him in the kitchen, giving him the perfect reason to run away.

“Everytime!” Abbigail groaned as she ignored the three men and stomped towards you.

You patted her shoulder gently, a soft sorry smile on your lips while she grumbled. “I thought he was cute.” You winked at her when she looked up your way and smiled sheepishly. 

Dean came between you two, taking back his wallet from Abby’s hands, James following right behind him.

“He was anything but cute.” James grumbled, pulling his sister with him as he headed for the exit.

“Yeah, guys of his age just want one thing only.” Dean agreed with James and you couldn’t read his face clearly, it was a mix between anger and protectiveness.

You rolled your eyes, knowing they were exaggerating. “James. Dean.” You sighed but you stopped in your tracks as you heard your own voice.

The little group stopped moving when they heard you chuckle softly. Sam and Dean gave you a questioning look while Abbigail and James looked at each other, rolled their eyes and kept on moving, ignoring your innocent pun. “Everytime.” James sighed, pushing the door open.

Sam followed behind them while you kept laughing softly, a hand covering your mouth. You realized that Dean was standing next to you, a soft smile on his face while looking at you.

“Come on, it’s a bit funny, right?” You asked him, feeling a bit embarrassed. “What?” You asked again when he remained silent.

“I don’t remember the last time I heard your laugh.” He said out of the blue. “It looks good on you..” He added before walking towards the exit as well.

You tried to ignore the warm feeling over your cheeks and followed him outside.

***

Here you were, finally! Lebanon. None of you knew why you had to be here exactly, but everything linked the city to your case, even though you weren’t sure you would find Purson here.

“So, now what?” James asked, deposing the bags at the feet of the bed.

“Now we rest a bit before we start digging.” You exhaled as you let your body fall heavily on one of the beds. You were exhausted, contrary to the kids and Sam who had a few hours of sleep in the car, you had spent your time looking for a way to get rid of Purson, even though you still had no clue how.

The hex bags the Winchesters gave you and the twins was enough to give you some peace of mind, with those you knew no demons would find you, Purson included. As you felt your body relax, you heard the soft noises the twins were making around you as they moved into the room. They tried to be as silent as possible, not wanting to disturb your sleep, but you were a light sleeper.

“How is it?” You mumbled sleepily.

Abbigail looked at you, one eyebrow raised as she tried to understand what you were talking about. You couldn’t help but think that she really did look like Dean. The resemblance was kind of disturbing. Despite your every effort, you couldn’t wrap your mind around the fact that they were your children, the concept was too difficult to accept. You were used to the supernatural, you knew strange things happened in the dark but this, this was too big, even bigger than the Apocalypse. And yet, you needed to know more about them, about their lives.

“Your...family. What does it look like?” 

James stopped by his sister’s side, giving you a warning look, and again you thought about how much you would give the same look. It was really weird. “We can’t tell you, you know that.”

“I’m not asking for specific details.” You argued back. “I’m just wondering if you’re happy. Are you-we a happy family?” You really needed to know. The main reason you hated your life was because you were raised as a hunter, so it was very difficult for you to understand them.

“Very much.” Abbigail smiled genuinely.

“But don’t get too excited. You and Dad are still annoying from time to time.” James said, a boyish grin illuminating his face. “I mean you are parents, so from time to time you’re doing things that are really embarrassing us.”

“Right! You remember that time when she shouted proudly ‘that’s my son!’ in the middle of your monologue in that performance? Oh boy! I still can see your red face.” Abbigail laughed heartily.

James’ face became red from embarrassment as he remembered, lowering his head to hide his discomfort. 

“You’re acting?” You asked, eager to learn more about them.

James nodded, still avoiding your eyes. “School project.” He shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“School? You’re going to school? Like regularly?” This time you were really curious, wondering what kind of life those children have.

“I told you. We have normal lives, you and Dad did the best you could considering the circumstances. We’re going to school, we have a home, we know about the supernatural things but we’re not scared of it and you know why?” Abby told you, a soft smile curling her lips when she asked you her question.

You didn’t reply, your silence encouraging her to give the answer herself.

“Because we know that our family will protect us if anything happens. We’ve got you, and Dad and Uncle Sammy, and a lot of other people we can’t tell you about.”

James nodded before adding his own thoughts. “It’s hard being a Winchester but we wouldn’t have it any other way.” The pride in his tone was very audible.

A single tear slipped down your face, you were glad that your face was partially hidden in your arms as you laid on your side, the tear discreetly ending in the cotton sheets. They couldn’t share a lot of things with you, you knew that, but you were grateful to learn a few things, at least you knew they had safe lives, that was what really mattered in the end. You couldn’t help but wonder if it would still be the same after you’ve taken care of Purson. The demon had messed up your past, the relationship you had with Dean was totally different from the one the twins’ parents had. What will happen in the future once everything will be over? 

***

“Hey! Found anything?” James asked as he entered into the brothers’ room, Abbigail right behind him.

A heavy sigh coming from Sam was the only answer they got, and it wasn’t good. “You really don’t know more about him?” He asked again, the twins rolling back their eyes at the repetitive question.

“If we knew we would tell you Uncle Sammy.” Abbigail whined, having enough.

“I just don’t get it. Why is he doing this? If he wanted to kill us why is he waiting?” Dean thought out loud as he tried to understand Purson’s motives.

“Does he really want to kill you?” Sam asked no one in particular. He stood up and picked a book he had read twice already, he hadn’t found any answer but maybe three times was the charm?

“His intentions were truly clear when he tried to kill Mom in our time.” James said as he sat on Sam’s bed while Abbigail sat next to Dean on his bed.

Dean tried to hide his discomfort at their proximity. It was still difficult for him to see them as his children. Since his encounter with Ben before he went to Hell, Dean had thought about having his own kids, the idea a stupid thought at first, became more and more important after that. He had a chance with Ben being his but Lisa crushed all his silent hopes when she told him he wasn’t Ben’s father. After that blow, Dean knew he would never get another chance at being a father.

And now here he was with a pair of twins on his arms. Dean felt overjoyed about this news but the fact that a demon was hunting all of them, reminding him that it never would be over and that his family could never be safe, broke his little bubble.

“Stop that.” James said sternly, giving Dean a knowing look.

“What?”

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen that frown.” Abbigail hummed, her index finger tapping on the wrinkles between Dean’s eyes. Dean jerked back a bit at the sudden touch.

From the corner of the room Sam chuckled, shaking his head as he kept staring at his book.

James stood up and sat next to Dean, trapping their father between them. Dean shifted a bit, feeling uneasy as the two kids stared at him with a fond smile.

“This is not your fault, alright?” Abbigail said gently.

“Yeah, it’s nobody fault that monsters want us dead. That’s because we’re just so awesome!” James grinned playfully, a boyish grin adorning his face.

“This is not funny. It’s dangerous.” Dean grunted, he didn’t understand why they weren’t taking the problem more seriously.

“Oh we know.” They said in sync, Dean blinking at the sudden seriousness.

Abbigail shrugged one shoulder and gave him a soft smile. “Doesn’t mean that we’ll curl into a ball and hide in a corner.”

Dean tore his gaze for the teenage girl next to him and looked at the boy on his other side as he felt him moving. James nodded as he agreed with his sister.

“Did you and Uncle Sammy run away when that son of a bitch killed grandma?” 

James’ question picked Sam’s interest. The mention of their mother was still a sensitive subject for the both of them and Sam tensed when he saw the angry look appearing on his big brother’s face.

“That’s different!” Dean argued, standing up in one jump to put some distance between them as he felt claustrophobic.

“Really?” Abbigail asked him, using the same kind of tone as him. “The only difference is that we weren’t forced into this life, but the feeling is the same.” For a second, Dean had to take a double look at her, the eyes were the same as his but the way Abbigail held her tiny frame was totally Y/N.

“You and Uncle Sammy trained us well.” James tried a softer approach. “We’re not soldiers. We’re not hunters but we know how to defend ourselves and our family. We’re just kids who are trying their best to protect their family, that’s it.”

“That’s not your job!” Dean raised his voice, the feeling they depicted being too familiar to him.

“No but that’s what family does!” Abbigail argued back, her voice as strong as Dean’s.

Seeing this, James rolled his eyes back and sighed, defeated. He knew there was no way for him to stop their argument. He shrugged as he gave up and walked towards Sam, knowing perfectly well that they wouldn’t listen to him anymore.

“You’re just kids! I don’t want my children to live the life we had! I don’t want to make the same mistakes as my father!” Dean roared, finally admitting how he felt about all of this.

Sam was going to interfere but froze when he felt James’ hand on his torso. The young boy simply shook his head no, silently telling him to stay back.

“And you didn’t!” Abbigail yelled at Dean, she was tired of having this conversation already. Whenever the twins tried to help their parents, it always ended with the same argument. They could read and learn about the lore, they could do research, they could learn how to fight and shoot but helping with an actual hunt? Never. Having two hot headed persons in the same family wasn’t an easy thing.

“We’re not hunters.” She added more softly once she realized that Dean was listening. “And we don’t want to be hunters. He wants to be an architect for God’s sake!” She added, her hand motioning to James.

After such a revelation, Sam’s face turned towards James who simply smiled genuinely and shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“I’m working my ass off so one day I could pretend to go to Yale!” Abbigail explained, her wet eyes darting over Dean’s face. She relaxed a bit when she noticed Dean’s shoulders falling slightly.

“We know we won’t have a normal life because of who we are but if there’s one thing you and Mom taught us, is that we have free-will. So we’ll fight whoever crosses our path and get what we want. Because that’s what Winchesters do.” She concluded, her voice softer as she felt better now that she let it out.

While Sam’s eyes darted from Abby to James, Dean remained silent as he tried to register everything he just heard. Maybe this could work? Maybe he really could have a family and they wouldn’t be in danger all the time? He wouldn’t admit it out loud but the idea of having his own children one day was growing on him again.

Dean licked his lips and cleared his throat before facing James. “Does she always sound so cheesy?” He asked the kid, a thumb pointing at the young girl. Dean needed to change the topic to erase the heavy tension around them.

“Mom says she got it from you.” James smirked.

“There’s no way I sound like that.” Dean scoffed and Sam couldn’t help but snicker at that.

“No but you will.” Abbigail shoved him playfully.

“She has him wrapped around her little finger.” Sam whispered to James, watching Dean and Abby’s playful banter.

James sighed and crossed his arms upon his chest. “She’s such a Daddy’s little girl.”

“I heard that Mama boy!” Abbigail barked, narrowing her eyes at her little brother.

“Alright! Who’s hungry?” Sam clasped into his hands, hopefully the idea of eating would prevent another argument.

***

Soft, unfamiliar voices disturbed your peaceful slumber. You couldn’t really understand what they were talking about, but the few words you registered weren’t alarming you. Little by little you broke the sleepy spell and came back to reality. You realized that the people were talking about some brain surgery, and how the patient’s odds weren’t good.

Blinking a few times, your sight fell on Dean, sitting on the opposite bed, his back pressed against the headboard, his legs stretched on the bed. He seemed truly immersed in the TV show but you shouldn’t underestimate his hunter’s skills as he noticed right away your subtle movements, breaking his concentration from the TV and focusing on you.

“Hey! Sorry did I wake you?” He turned off the TV and threw the remote at the end of the bed, his tone was soft, giving you time to wake up properly.

You shook your head and gave him a reassuring smile.

“What are you doing here?” You croaked, your voice a bit raw for the lack of use. A quick glance at your phone told you that you’ve slept for almost 3 hours.

Dean shrugged, not feeling comfortable explaining why he was here. “You know...No more books to read, and I hate research anyway…” He trailed off, looking anywhere but you.

“So you decided that my TV was better than yours?” You asked playfully as you sat up.

“Sam went with the kids to grab lunch, I wanted to know if you had found something new but you were asleep so…” A hand rubbed the back of his neck and you recognized this old habit, he was uncomfortable. Funny how he hadn’t changed through the years.

“I mean, I know you’re a capable hunter and you don’t need help but we don’t know where Purson or- or Alex are so I thought that- yeah, well you know?” Dean rambled and only stopped when he saw the knowing smile on your face. “What?”

“Thank you.”

His grumpy face became blank at your sudden words, Dean wasn’t expecting this.

“You’ve always taken care of me but you’ve been freed of this burden a long time ago.” You explained, sadly.

“Y/N-”

You raised a hand, preventing him from saying anything.

“It’s alright. I’m a grown up woman, now. What happened in the past is in the past, we can’t change it. You and I know we won’t be the same.” You said, matter of factly.

The bed dipped a bit as Dean sat next to you on your bed. You closed your eyes as you felt his fingertips brushing gently against your temple as Dean pushed a few strands of hair behind your ear.

“You’re right, it’s not the same. Now when I look at you, I see my old best friend, not the monster who taunted me with hurtful words.” 

“Dean, I’m sorry-” You tried to apologize again but he cut you short.

“I know. And I’m sorry too but we’re not responsible for this disaster, ok? And to tell you the truth I’m tired, Y/N.” Dean’s voice was strong in the beginning, but the more he spoke with you the more you could hear the weariness in his voice.

The man in front of you wasn’t the cocky brat you’ve known. No, in front of you stood a broken man, one who had been through so many difficult fights and you didn’t know even half of it. At this instant you wanted one thing only: helping him to pick up the pieces. You were so close that your knees were touching, but that didn’t stop you from holding his hand in yours, a soft squeeze telling him that you were here for him no matter what.

“Will we be back to what we were used to? Probably not. But I’m fed up with people telling me what to do with my life so what do you think about just forgetting the past and see where this thing is going?” His eyes darted from left to right, and he fell silent after that, waiting for your answer, expectantly.

A squeeze on your hand broke your concentration and you gave him a genuine smile, squeezing him back as you nodded. Dean simply smiled back at you.

“I missed you.” You whispered, throwing your arms around his neck and hiding your face in the crook of his neck. The words were true, despite everything you’ve done or said, everything you’ve thought about him for so many years, deep down you knew there was a tiny part of you who always missed him.

The two of you remained silent, enjoying the embrace. However you should have known that good things always come to an end. The both of you jumped from the bed when the motel’s door burst open revealing Sam and the twins.

“We’ve found him!” James said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you very much to each of you who leave a comment or a kudo.   
> You don't know how much it means to me and it keeps me motivated!!
> 
> Just two chapters left, I hope you'll like the rest of the story as well.
> 
> Once again thank you <3


	12. Uncertain future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Mentions of death, angst
> 
> Don't kill me? ^^"

The sudden arrival made you feel a bit embarrassed, you didn’t know if Sam or the kids had seen that you and Dean had been hugging and you didn’t know why it bothered you if they did. It was a friendly gesture, nothing to be ashamed of. You cleared your throat and sat a bit farther from Dean, avoiding any stare.

“What do you mean?” Dean asked. He had noticed your movement but didn’t mention it.

“While Uncle Sammy was waiting at the cashier, Abby saw Purson outside, so we followed him.” James explained.

You and Dean gave Sam a disapproving face, not liking the fact that he let the children wander while a demon was hunting their asses. Sam just shrugged, as if the simple movement was enough to justify his actions.

“He looks younger than what we’re used to but I swear it’s him!” Abby told you.

Sam, Dean and you shared a look, knowing perfectly that it wasn’t Purson but Alex, instead. A few days ago you told the boys what you could remember from the time when Purson held you captive and how you had recognized Alex. After a long conversation, you’ve deduced that Purson was possessing an older version of Alex and worked with the version of your timeline. The problem was you couldn’t understand their plan.

“What are we waiting for? Uncle Sam has the footage from the surveillance cameras.” Abbigail asked, visibly impatient. “Let’s go!”

“Wait a minute.” Dean stopped her as he stood up and held her by the shoulder. 

“We’ve been looking for him for weeks and haven’t found anything and suddenly he just appears and waits for us to gank him? I don’t know kiddo, it seems too easy.” Dean told her and with a quick glance at Sam and you, he knew you were thinking the same.

The kids weren’t happy with that statement. By the way they were acting you knew they were eager to end this as soon as possible.

“Easy works for me.” 

“The footage is way too good.” Sam started to explain as he walked towards the bed, stopping next to you and Dean, laptop in his hands as he clicked on the link to download the video from the store, new technologies were truly a blessing. “The guy stopped just in front of the cameras, the licence plate is so obvious and it’s too easy to follow him once he left. I think it’s a trap.” 

“Let’s just fall for that trap, then.” You said after a short moment of silence. Four pairs of eyes gluing to you.

“Yeah. Right.” Dean scoffed, shaking his head no as he walked towards the fridge and grabbed a beer bottle, he twisted the cap to open it and drank half of it in one go, then stared at you for what felt the longest minute in the world. “You can’t be serious?”

You shrugged. “Why not? We’re looking for them, they’re waiting for us. It’s the easiest way.”

“It’s the dumbest way.” Sam argued.

“As long as it works.” You argued back, walking towards Dean and grabbing his beer from his hands, drinking the rest of it. “You have a better plan?” you asked, your eyes jumping from one brother to another.

The heavy silence that fell was the proof they didn’t have a better idea. You watched the silent battle between the Winchesters and knew you had won the argument over when Dean closed his eyes and groaned from exasperation.

***

It only took half of the day for your little group to discover where Alex was hiding. Why did the bad guys always choose an abandoned barn in a secluded area as their lair? Was there some kind of a bad guys’ code? You thought as you stared at the old, rusty barn that stood in front of you.

“I don’t like it.” Dean said as he closed the trunk and let the duffel bag fall at his feet.

“Yeah. I think we got it when you said it for the fifth time one hour ago.” You sighed as you rolled your eyes. You forced a smile as you picked the gun he handed you and tried your best to ignore the bitchy face Dean was giving you.

“Mom! Dad!” The twins called you in sync, they stopped a few feet away from you and lifted their arms, visibly disapproving the handcuffs around their wrists that tied them together. Sam came just behind them, another pair of handcuffs in his hands.

“You can’t force us to stay on the bench.” Abby glared at you.

“This is for your safety. You’re not going with us.” Dean argued back.

“Yeah, because leaving us in the middle of nowhere, stuck in the car without any way to fight back if a demon attacks us is safer.” James grumbled.

Dean opened his mouth to argue back but he didn’t find the words, the kid having a point. He licked his bottom lip, his index finger still pointed at James before he turned around and faced you, giving you a disapproving glare.

“Why are they so smart?” 

“Call me pretentious but I would think that’s because they’re our kids.” You smirked, a strange pride warming your heart for a second.

Dean was startled at first and you wondered if he was still feeling uneasy about the fact that you had- or will have, this notion was still difficult to wrap your mind around- kids together. However you relaxed when he smirked back at you. Sam tried his best to hide his amusement as he uncuffed the twins. Once they were free, they were both handed a bottle of Holy water while Sam ordered them to always stick behind him. 

“If something goes wrong you and your brother run as fast as you can and you don’t look back. Am I clear?” Dean asked as he pressed the keys of Baby in Abby’s hands.

“Cristal.” Abby and James replied in sync, it was the first time you saw them so serious and you couldn’t help but feel bad for them. Despite what they had assured you, you still disliked the fact that they were in the middle of such a mess.

Silently your little group walked towards the barn and split in two groups once you’ve reached the main door. During the drive to get here, you suggested to use the effect of surprise as best as you can. You knew Purson was expecting you, so entering the barn from different entrances was your best shot. They were just two against five after all, luck was on your side, hopefully.

You headed for the back of the barn with Sam and the kids, while Dean stayed at the front. You took a deep breath to calm down your nerves and looked at Sam, waiting for his sign. Sam glanced at the kids, warning them silently to stay behind him, then looked at you, checking if you were ready. You both nodded and entered the barn as quietly as possible. With one hand safely curled around your gun’s handle, you entered first, Sam watching your back and keeping the children safe. The atmosphere was eerie and the deafening silence around you wasn’t reassuring. One thing was sure: Purson was waiting for you. As you kept walking you caught sight of Dean from the opposite side, the man hiding behind a rusty sheet metal next to the entrance. He motioned with a flick of his head to your right, informing you silently that he was going for that side. You nodded once and swallowed with difficulty as you went on the left side. There was no time to lose, the sunset gave you enough light to see where you were going but you knew that when night would come it would be pitch dark inside.

It felt like eternity, you knew you’d been inside for only a few minutes but seeing no signs of Purson or even Alex made you feel wary. Were they really here? Maybe you made a mistake and entered the wrong barn? If Purson was really in there he would have attacked you already. Dean joined you in the middle, his gun still in hand but letting his guard down slightly as he came to the same conclusion, Purson wasn’t here. The thought didn’t make you feel better, what was this demon trying to do? What was he waiting for?

“Mom. Dad.” If the fear in James’ voice wasn’t enough of a warning, the fact that Abby seemed like she was stuck in place was the last nail in the coffin. It took you only a few seconds to notice the kids were standing in the middle of a huge circle, covered with unknown symbols, the crimson red color wasn’t reassuring.

“Get out of it.” Dean hissed, checking his surroundings.

“We can’t.” Abby whimpered, she tried to move her feet but it didn’t bulge, like she was glued to the floor. James faced the same predicament.

Sam tried to break the circle with his feet but the red color moved on his own, reforming right away, the magic circle never breaking. Whatever this thing was, it only affected the twins. The next second, all Hell broke loose. Sam was pushed down against the floor at the twins’ feet, a strong invisible force restraining him while you and Dean were sent flying against opposite walls, all air leaving your lungs at the impact. The sounds of your guns falling on the dusty ground resonated before you heard the click of shoes coming in front of you. You struggled against the powerful force and ended face to face with Purson, two black orbs staring at you, a satisfied smile adorning his face. You tore your eyes from his as you heard the twins falling on the floor, gasping hard.

“I have to admit that I wasn’t sure it would work.” Purson said as one of his hands grabbed your chin painfully, forcing you to watch him, giving him your most heinous glare.

“Leave them alone!” Dean roared before he felt a cold silver blade pressed against his throat, that was when you noticed Alex was next to him.

“You have us where you wanted. Just kill us already and leave the kids alone.” You said between clenched teeth.

Purson let go of your chin and took a step back, watching you from head to toe.”You think it’s about you?” He laughed softly, then turned around and walked towards Sam and the kids.

“Don’t-” Dean threatened again before the blade cutting his skin reminded him to stay put.

“Dean!” You screamed as you noticed the tiny streak of blood leaving the new wound. Dean’s eyes fell on you, silently reassuring you that he was fine.

“It has always been about the kids.” Purson sighed in exasperation, stepping on Sam’s hand, making him groan in pain.

“I was respected by my peers. I was the most powerful, demons and princes of Hell came to get advice from me. As the guardian of the past, present and future, I knew everything, could see anything…” He trailed off before kneeling in front of James and Abby who started to suffocate.

“Until one day.” He whispered hatefully before standing on his feet once again.

“It took me a while to find them but of course I should have known that Winchesters’ offsprings were the cause of it. I thought killing one of you or both would do it but you can’t go against Destiny. Unfortunately for me, the three of you are important for my future, I need you alive.”

Purson kept on talking, revealing why he hasn’t killed you or the brothers. As he walked towards Dean. With a short movement of his head he ordered Alex to release Dean and go to you instead. Purson was still using his power against the Winchesters and you, preventing any movement.

“Not knowing what the future is made of is very troublesome. I don’t know how you’re doing it.” Purson joked while Dean’s eyes threw daggers at him.

“Are you always so chatty? It’s kind of boring.” Dean said and you couldn’t agree more with him.

“Don’t worry, the fun part is coming soon. Black magic takes time.” The demon threatened, an evil smile curling his lips as the red symbols surrounding the twins started to glow.

“Sam.” You pleaded with the younger brother to do something, he tried to move but he was still stuck on the floor, from your spot you could see he used all his willpower to move but it was in vain.

“I wasn’t expecting those rugrats to follow me here and ruin my plans. You see as long as they’re here, the past can’t change, they’re still existing in their timeline. I tried to kill them of course, but they’re like cockroaches, still breathing and coming back.”

You listened to Purson carefully, hoping that he would let slip a hint for you to get out of this nightmare. The only thing you were sure of was none of you, Purson included, knew what would come of this fight. You still had a chance, hope was your only ally.

“Alex, please.” You whispered as the young man stood in front of you, the hand holding the blade against your throat trembling. “I know this is not you.  _ He’s _ not you, you’re still human, right?”

Alex averted your gaze, his hold around the handle straightening. 

“You don’t want this. I don’t know what he promised you but I know you’re not a killer. You’re the one who brought me to the hospital, aren’t you?” You kept on talking gently, in hopes that he would come to his senses somehow.

Alex nodded, confirming what you suspected about your inexplicable rescue.

“He promised me immortality. After this mess is over, I’ll let him possess me and we’ll be together for eternity.”

“Alex…” You couldn’t believe your own ears. “He’s a demon, he’s lying. You really think that I’ll go with you after you’ve murdered my children? Just kill me right now if that’s the case because I swear I’ll-”

“Huh, huh, huh.” Purson cut you short, using his powers to mute your voice. You tried to speak but not a sound was coming. “Don’t bother my minion with your useless words.”

The cries of pain from the twins brought you back to the most important matter at the moment. Whatever Purson intended to do with the kids was happening, you needed to stop this before it was too late. The first change you noticed was Abbigail’s change of hair color. Her blonde hair slowly darkened, morphing into a long black hair. After a moment the twins stopped to groan in pain, their bodies relaxed as they laid on the floor, motionless.

“When I realized that I can’t kill them, I knew I had to use them. Those crossbreds could be handy.” Purson said as Abbigail stood up on her feet slowly. Your heart stopped beating when you noticed how pitch black her eyes were.

“All I needed was a few drops of demon’s blood and a lot from Mommy dearest.”

“You son of a bitch. I’ll kill you! I swear!” Dean yelled, struggling to get himself free from Purson’s invisible hold. Purson ignored Dean’s threats, his attention focused on the children standing in the middle of the circle.

Purson’s smile faded slowly once the circle stopped glowing. If Abbigail’s transformation was a success he couldn’t say the same about James’. The boy was still the same, no change could be noticed, except the fact that his body was strangely translucent.

“Dad…” James whimpered in fear, his eyes wide opened as he stared at his hands.

“What? No! I need both of them!” Purson roared, his attention now totally focused on the children, his powers having less effect on you and the brothers.

Sam grabbed Abbigail’s ankle as she stepped out from the circle.

“Abby you need to fight this.”

Abbigail cocked her head on the side, observing Sam for a moment before kicking him in the stomach. The youngest Winchester rolled on the side, clutching his stomach and groaning at the sudden blow.

“Abby stop!” James shouted, walking towards his sister, one hand lifted to grab her arm but his hand only went through the girl’s body. She turned around facing James and stared at him for a long moment.

“Abby…” James trailed off, fearing the worst when he saw zero emotion on his sister’s face.

“Get out of my way.” She said plainly, raising her hand, her palm opened towards James’ torso. She sent him flying against the wall behind him but instead of hitting the wall, James passed right through it, disappearing from everyone’s sight.

“No!” You screamed, Purson’s control over you disappearing as he was as shocked as you with what was going on. Visibly, his plans weren’t going as he wanted.

Dean didn’t waste his time, once he was in total control of his body again, he grabbed the demon knife tucked in his back pocket and charged towards Purson. The demon quickly reacted and blocked Dean’s arm, the knife dangerously close to his face. While both men fought, you pushed Alex, fighting with him over his weapon. The man wasn’t a hunter and you quickly had the upper hand on him, pushing him back, making him lose his balance and grabbing the knife from his hands before pressing him against the wall. Meanwhile, Sam struggled with Abbigail, he tried to tackle her but the girl with her new demonic powers wasn’t having it. 

Everything happened in a blur. You fell on the dusty ground as Alex pushed you hard, you had to think fast before he did something deadly. You kicked his legs as hard as you could, the man waving his arms as he tried to keep his balance steady, giving you enough time to stand on your feet. You punched him in the face twice and spinned around before kicking him in the torso. Alex was thrown back with the forceful kick and landed on a rusty pipe that came out from the wall behind him, impaling himself. At the exact same time, an orange light glowed over Purson’s face as Dean jabbed his lower back with the demon knife.

“Told you I would kill you.” Dean seethed twisting the blade. “Stay away from my kids.” He said as he pushed the demon’s limp body, letting it fall heavily on the ground, dead.

Abbigail froze, her fist a few centimeters from Sam’s bloody face. Her green eyes rolling back in her head before she dropped unconscious over Sam’s torso. The man sighed heavily as he realized it was over. You didn’t give a second glance at Alex’s limp body, heading for Sam and Abby right away. Dean mirroring your movement.

“Abby.” You called her name gently, kneeling next to Sam and holding her in your arms.

A sob escaped your lips when you saw her eyes flutter. Her hair was back to its natural color and you’ve never been so happy to see the green color in her eyes. You rocked her back and forth gently as you stroked her hair lovingly.

“What happened?” Abbigail asked after a short moment, looking around her. “Where’s the demon?”

“Dead.” Dean stated sternly, kneeling next to the both of you.

Your lips pursed into a fine line when Abbigail asked you what you feared. “Where’s James?” She asked when she noticed her brother was nowhere in sight.

You glanced at Dean, not knowing what to tell her. Dean’s lack of answer wasn’t helping and your heart broke when you saw the sadness in his eyes. You couldn’t look at her when she asked you again where her little brother was.

“Mom? Where’s James? Dad?” Her voice wavered as she addressed Dean, pushing herself away from you so she could look at Dean. Dean’s face contorted in pain as the girl looked at him with teary eyes.

“No…” Abbigail whispered, shaking his head as she refused to believe her parents. She tried to free herself from your hold but you held her tight, pressing her face against your chest, Dean’s arms wrapping around yours to show you his support.

Tears started to fall freely as you heard the heartbreaking cries of Abbigail, calling her little brother’s name in vain.


	13. The last paradox

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it. The final chapter! I'll admit it, I'm kind of sad to end this series. I had a lot of fun writing it, particularly the twins. They were so cute. Maybe, if you're interested, I'll write a few time stamps? I'm not ready to put a final end to this series.
> 
> A huge thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for reading, commenting and leaving kudos. It meant a lot to me and really motivated me. So thank you <3

The calm didn’t last for very long, Abbigail was still crying heartbreakingly when a strong wind blew on everyone's faces as a blinding light appeared not far from you. As a reflex, your hold straightened around Abby’s trembling body while Sam and Dean stood protectively in front of you, despite the tiredness, they were ready to fight the new threat that was coming for all of you. 

A giant hole formed inside the blinding light and you didn’t have to wait very long before a silhouette came out of it. The Winchesters' tall forms prevent you from seeing who or what it was, but whatever it was, you knew it wasn’t something good. You recognized perfectly well the sound of a gun being cocked and it wasn’t coming from the boys. Instinctively your arms wrapped tighter around Abbigail. You’ve lost a son already, you weren’t going to lose your daughter as well.

“Jesus woman! When I say ‘on three’, it means you go after three!” A deep voice said as another form came through the weird hole.

“What the…” Dean breathed, his body going rigid.

“Where’s my daughter?” The voice, strangely familiar, asked.

You blinked several times and once you’ve checked on Abby, you stood up and pushed her behind you, using your body as a shield to protect her. You gently pushed the boys on the side, giving you room to stand between them. You were totally speechless to say the least. The newcomers who stood in front of you were the perfect replicas of you and Dean, only older.

“I was expecting a lot of things, but not this.” Older Dean mumbled, his own gun pointed at you.

The older version of you didn’t move or replied back, her stare still fixed on the three of you.

“Dean…” Sam started to speak but Abbigail’s voice cut him short.

The girl walked by your side, finally coming into view.

“Mom? Dad?” She called as she took a step towards them. The faces of your older versions relaxed for a second as they realized she was still alive. However Dean wrapped his hand around her wrist, preventing her to walk further, an unpleasant gesture for your replicas.

“Let her go!” The older you warned, her index finger brushing the trigger.

“I look like a Mama Bear.” You whispered to Dean, still stunned by what you were seeing.

Dean nodded, agreeing with you as he stared at his own doppelganger. ”Does it make me a Papa Beard?” he asked and you finally took a good look at the older version of Dean, noticing for the first time the beard he referred to. You had to admit that he looked good, giving you pleasant vibes.

Abbigail’s hand covered Dean’s one on her wrist, a reassuring smile on her face, telling him that it was safe. Reluctantly Dean let her go and she ran towards them, the older Dean not wasting a second to wrap her in a bear hug.

“We thought we’d lost you.” He sighed, relieved once he had his daughter back into his arms and not caring about you anymore. He didn’t need to, he had the older version of you to cover his back. Keeping Abbigail at arms’ length, he looked at her from head to toe, a fond smile curling his lips. “It’s so good to see you, Sunshine.”

“Mom, relax. They’re you. There’s nothing to be scared of.” Abbigail told her mother, still tucked in Dean’s embrace. After a few long seconds and a confirming nod from you, your older version finally relaxed and put the safety of her gun back.

The way she had switched personalities so fast was really disturbing. She went from scary threatening mom to worried mom in a blink and pulled Abbigail from his father’s embrace, hugging her strongly.

“My baby! I was so scared! What were you thinking, disappearing like this?” The caring mood then turned into a scolding one as she broke the embrace, her hand still wrapped around Abby’s shoulders, looking at her from head to toe.

“You’re so going to be grounded. Until you’re thirty at least.” She threatened and the way she said it meant she wasn’t even joking.

“Mom!” Abbigail whimpered.

“I’m not complaining.” The older Dean said as he tucked his gun behind him seeing there was no threat. The idea of having his little girl protected and away from any guys for a long, long time, a pleasant thought to his daddy's heart.

“Dad!” 

Sam, Dean and you were speechless in front of such a strange scene. It was a thing to see your older versions but it was another thing to see them acting like real parents. The little fact that they were completely ignoring you was offending, but you knew that for parents, nothing mattered most than keeping your child safe. Taking a glance towards Sam, you saw the amused smile stretching his lips but when you glanced at Dean, he looked as overwhelmed as you felt.

Unfortunately, the happy bubble had to burst at some point, Abbigail needing to tell her parents the heartbreaking news.

“Mom, Dad...James-he…” Abbigail choked on her words, having a hard time voicing the terrible news.

“Oh I knew it!” Your older version snapped, shaking her head in a disapproving manner. “He told us he didn’t know anything but I knew he was lying. You two are always covering each other back.”

She then turned towards the older Dean, giving him a knowing look. “‘Having twins will be fun’ you said! Ha!”

The older Dean held up his hands, refusing to be the only one at fault. “Hey, the twin’s genes come from your side, not mine. It takes two to make twins.”

“Wait a minute.” You said, your heart missing a beat when you heard them talking about James.

“James is- Is he alright?” You asked, fearing the worst. Absentmindedly, you grabbed Dean’s hand.

Your older version nodded, a soft smile on her lips. She didn’t know what happened here, but it wasn’t difficult to see that you were worried about James. “He is for now but he won’t be once we get back and I give him an earful about it!”

Abbigail turned around, looking at you and Dean, relief written all over her face as you and Dean finally let go of the breath you were holding. 

“Sorry to break this little bubble, but what’s going on here?” The older Dean finally asked.

“Purson.” Dean replied back, as if the name was enough of an explanation. However, the confused face they gave you told you they didn’t know what you were talking about.

“Who?”

Sam took on himself to explain everything from the start. Throughout the story, it appeared that the paradox Sam mentioned was more complicated than what he initially thought. According to your older versions, James was still at home, safe and sound and it looked like he had never left his timeline. The old you never heard of Purson and so never had been attacked by the demon and Sam and Dean never went after him.

“Maybe once James, er, disappeared here, the paradoxe brought him back, safe and sound. He wasn’t born yet so technically he couldn’t die in our timeline and since we’ve killed both Purson and his future vessel, nothing will happen in the future? If there’s no Purson now, there won’t be one in the future.” Sam tried to explain as best as he could, but it was kind of complicated, even for him.

“But why are we having this conversation then? If everything was back to normal, we wouldn’t be here, right?” You asked, this situation was very confusing.

“That’s because Abbigail’s still here. James and her used Purson’s portal and ended here. With Purson dead and James back in his timeline, Abbygail is the last piece creating the paradox. I think once she will be back in her timeline everything will fall back into place.” Sam replied.

“Does that mean that everything we’ve been through will never happen?” Dean asked, not liking the idea of forgetting about the twins.

“The fact that I don’t remember this encounter must be our biggest clue.” His older version replied back. The little group fell silent after that, pondering over all of this and what it meant.

“Well, I think it’s time for us to go back.” Dean, the older one, clapped into his hands. “Jessica is worried to death about you, kiddo.” 

“Jessica?” Sam couldn’t help himself and perked at the mentioned name. Abbigail gave him a soft smile. “My cousin.”

Sam’s mouth hung open while Dean nudged him, happy to know that his brother will have kids as well in the future.

Abbigail and her parents walked towards the portal, hands in hands and stopped in front of it. Before they stepped into it, Abby turned around and ran towards you and Dean, throwing herself into your arms for one last hug.

“Thank you. For everything.” She said, fighting back the tears.

“We should be the ones thanking you, Abby.” You whispered against her temple, hugging her strongly. She broke the embrace and hugged Dean.

“Don’t forget your eighth anniversary, she’ll put you through hell for it.” Abbigail warned Dean with a playful smile, knowing perfectly that Dean will never remember it.

“Thanks for the tip. See you soon, kiddo.” Dean thanked her, his hand still holding her, he had a hard time to let her go.

She grinned at him as they parted. “See you in two years.”

Abbigail joined her parents in front of the portal, they gave you one last look before Abby and her mom stepped into it, Dean letting them go first. You waved at them, a strange feeling sinking down your stomach. The older version waved back before disappearing into the light as well.

***

You knew it was a bad idea but did they listen to you? Of course not! Dean had to be bitchy and Sam wasn’t helping, the boys repeating non-stop how tired they were and decided they deserved some sleep. So here you were, in the middle of nowhere, sleeping in the Impala. Sam took the front seat, while you and Dean slept in the back. As you felt Dean moving under you, you blinked your eyes open, the sudden pain in your lower back waking you up. You groaned and Dean did the same before kissing the top of your head then pushed you slightly on the side.

“Hey! How did you sleep?” Sam, who was brushing his teeth in front of the car, asked his brother, a knowing smile on his face.

“What do you think?” Dean grunted as he climbed out from the car. The brothers bickered about having breakfast until Sam mentioned a forgotten sandwich in the back of the car. You brushed Dean’s wandering hand away and sat up in the car, rubbing your tired eyes with your thumb and index finger.

“Dean!” You yelled as he threw the old, disgusting sandwich in your lap. “Sometimes I’m wondering why I love him.” You murmured to yourself.

“That’s because you have good taste.” Dean answered you as he searched inside the gloves compartment for the ringing phone. You rolled your eyes, amused when he hit his head against the roof of the car as he stood up. Strangely, the image of Dean wearing a beard came into your mind. You didn’t know where this weird idea came from, but you kept in mind to talk about it later. A beard would look good on him.

“Well, sorry to break this to you, pal, but John died more than two years ago.” Dean said to whoever was on the phone.

You glanced at Sam sadly, still feeling bad about John’s death. You knew you’ve done everything to help Sam and Dean to find him but it didn’t make you feel better about it. An uneasy feeling fell down your stomach when you noticed how silent Dean became. You stepped out from the car and wrapped an arm around his waist as you waited for him to tell you what was going on. Whatever the news was, it wasn’t good, you’ve seen this kind of face on Dean too many times over the years to recognize it. Within a few minutes, the three of you were driving towards Windom, Minnesota, for another strange hunt.

***

##  **1997**

He shouldn’t feel so stressed. It was just a stupid party, Dean didn’t even cared about it, he just did it for you because he didn’t like seeing you so sad. As your best friend it was his duty to bring back a smile on your face, so he didn’t really think about it when he promised you to go with you at that stupid Prom night. Keep it cool Dean, it’s just a regular party between two best friends, nothing more. That was what he kept telling to himself since the day before. He didn’t tell you he was coming earlier, wanting to surprise you, and what a surprise it was! The big smile on your face will always be imprinted into his brain. He knew this night was important for you but never would he have thought it was that important. He just had to make it the best night of your life. No big deal.

Then, he felt his knees buckle under his weight when you opened the door of your motel room. The red dress suited you so perfectly, Dean had never seen such a beautiful dress, the sequin beads reflecting the light over your head, giving him some rom-com vibes. And that damn smile again, it was making him weak for sure.

“Shall we go?” He bowed slightly, making you laugh and you nodded, resting your hand in his awaiting one.

Despite the warnings he gave you during the drive, Dean gave in in the end and danced with you the whole night, the music soft as the two of you swayed slowly. Whatever happened to the ‘Sweetheart, I don’t dance.’ you didn’t care, you were living the best night of your life. All of this thanks to your best friend: Dean Winchester.

At some point, Dean lost his smile, a disturbing feeling in the pit of his stomach as he realized how his hands were sweating or his heartbeat fastening. The sensation was unfamiliar with him and he hated it one hundred percent. His throat felt dry suddenly, his breathing short as his heart beat hard and fast against his ribcage.

“Thank you Dean.” You murmured, lips brushing against his ear as your chin rested over his shoulder, you closed your eyes, enjoying the moment at its fullest.

Dean gulped and with those simple few words he calmed down. The sickness feeling turned into a tingling sensation and finally, Dean understood. He still didn’t like it because he knew he was seriously screwed.

That night, Dean Winchester realized that he was in love with his best friend. Just like it was supposed to be.

**_FIN_ **

**Author's Note:**

> As per usual, this is unbetated and I’m sorry for any grammar mistakes or error spelling. Please let me know what you think of it! I really hope that this new series will bring you as much fun as it does for me.
> 
> I do not own the characters or the show.


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